Re: New Entries

On Sun, 11 Apr 2004, Jim Leonard wrote:

> Undying:  I own it, and all cinematics are in-game.  No FMV.

	Noted.

> Crusader:  It is not an OS/2 binary, but it does use a custom 32-bit .exe with
> custom memory manager.  So it may use a similar header... but it is a DOS game
> (and ONLY DOS, because of the goofy memory manager it won't work under
> anything else).  FMV is there, probably Xan.

	Ah, interesting. I remember reading that Origin liked to do weird
stuff like this. I will update the entry for this.

> Alien Oddyssey:  Your perception is somewhat correct.  More info here:
> http://www.mobygames.com/game/sheet/p,2/gameId,3641/  (You knew about
> mobygames.com right?)

	Yep, I know about Mobygames. I even cited it in a previous journal
entry since a Google search returned info from the site when I searched
for Pascal Urro.

> Worms 2:  KMVC is "Karl Morton's Video Codec".  Info is allegedly obtainable
> from [email protected].  Or you can ask Karl directly; interview is
> here:  http://www.worms2.com/main.html?page=abou&area=thet&inte=karl

	Do you suppose they would be willing to give up the technical
details of the codec?

> Stonekeep:  Definitely has FMV, although it is probably integrated into the
> game engine (meaning, I believe all FMV is played back as either animated
> sprites during the game or something).

	Stonekeep may have some sprite-based FMV (didn't play through the
game). But as noted in the entry, the game disc does have 26 Interplay MVE
files (they play perfectly in ffmpeg).

> BTW, the cookie recipe is a trademark
> of all of Tim Cain's games.  Fallout, Fallout 2, Arcanum, and probably other
> of his games all have cookie (or otherwise) recipes in the game documentation,
> so the muffin.txt file isn't a surprise :)

	Strangely, I'm one Stonekeep owner who is probably more interested
in the muffin recipe than the game...:)

> BTW:  You mention "digital interactive schlock", and I agree most of these
> titles are indeed that.  However, I'd like to point out that a very FEW
> FMV-based games were actually cool to play.  I was very impressed by the
> production values and unconventional thinking of Star Trek: Borg for example.
>   I just don't want you to think they ALL sucked.  The ratio is over 99%, but
> it wasn't completely 100% ;-)

	I didn't have an opinion one way or another until I developed this
odd hobby of investigation multimedia tech. Now I am very opposed to the
idea of FMV-based games...:) Fortunately, market forces have basically
made them extinct. Mostly, I refer to games where the gameplay consisted
of nothing but selecting between FMV clips, with very few other gameplay
elements. Games in this category include:

* Daedalus Encounter
* Critical Path
* Quantum Gate
* Beyond Time
* Frankenstein: Through The Eyes of the Monster
* The Magic Death
* Psychotron

That last one almost made me snap. There's bad, and then there's
Psychotron. As you noted, there are exceptions to every rule. And one
notable FMV-driven game I have seen is "In The First Degree". Based on the
FMV I watched, I think the game was done very well.

--
	-Mike Melanson


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