From: Chris McMullen <ChrisMc@lspace.org>
Subject: [FAQ] The Discworld Game FAQ
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett.announce,alt.fan.pratchett
Summary: This FAQ gives information about the wide spectrum of
Discworld-related games.
Followup-To: poster
Organization: L-Space
Keywords: Pratchett Discworld FAQ games CD-ROM
Approved: afpa-mod@lspace.org
X-Autoposter: This FAQ was autoposted by <leo@lspace.org>
X-Archive-name: pratchett/discworld-game-faq
X-Posting-Frequency: monthly (on the 21st)
X-Last-modified: 4 April 2001
X-Version: 3.10
X-URL: <http://www.lspace.org/faqs/>
Archive-name: pratchett/discworld-game-faq
Posting-Frequency: monthly (on the 21st)
Last-modified: 4 April 2001
Version: 3.10
URL: <http://www.lspace.org/faqs/>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Discworld Game Faq - V3.10
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction
------------
WARNING.. This faq contains some spoilers - read on at your own risk.
This FAQ is (c) Chris McMullen (2000)... it can be stored on a BBS, FTP
sites, Web sites, and so forth, as long as it is unmodified. Magazines, and
Shareware/PD CD manufacturers can put this on their CD's, as long as I'm
asked for permission first. The Discworld Game Faq is also completely
unofficial, not officially linked to GT Interactive (now taken over by
Infogrames), or Perfect Entertainment though Perfect have been very helpful
in providing bucketloads of handy information about the games.
This is v3.00 of the Discworld Faq, and contains information on the
Discworld Games. This revision, I've added a lot more information about the
release third Discworld game, Discworld Noir, including its apparent
abandonment by GT and the now defunct Perfect Entertainment.
Feel free to mail me with any corrections, suggestions, queries and so on,
at :
ChrisMc@lspace.org
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents:
----------
1. Background
1.1 What is Discworld?
1.2 How many Discworld games are there?
1.3 Which characters/locations are in the Discworld games?
1.4 Which Discworld books are the games based on?
1.5 Game Development.
1.6 Perfect Entertainment.
1.7 Where's Discworld?
2. Discworld 1.
2.1 What's it all about?
2.2 What machine do I need to run it?
2.3 What is the difference between the various versions?
2.4 How many different versions are there? Where can I get a demo?
2.5 Reported Bugs/Problems..
2.6 Where can I get a patch/what does it fix?
2.7 Discworld 1 and Windows 95 / NT
2.8 Technical Support and Troubleshooting;
3. Discworld 2: Missing, presumed...
3.1 What's it all about?
3.2 What machine do I need to run it?
3.3 Where can I get a demo?
3.4 Reported Bugs/Problems
3.5 Where can I get a patch/What does it fix?
3.6 Discworld 2 and Windows 95 / OS/2 /NT
3.7 That's Death.
3.8 Technical Support and Troubleshooting;
3.9 Easter Eggs
4. Discworld Noir
3.1 What's it all about?
3.2 What machine do I need to run it?
3.3 Reported Bugs/Problems
5. I'm stuck!
6. The Colour of Magic.
7. The Discworld MUD.
8. General
8.1 Other Discworld Games
8.2 Discworld on other formats;
8.3 Discworld Noir
8.4 The Discworld 2 Win95 Theme
9. CREDITS and FEEDBACK
9.1 Where can I get latest version of the faq?
9.2 The Discworld Game Page.
9.3 Credits.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Game Background / Scenario.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.1 What is Discworld?
----------
The Discworld is the setting for all the Discworld books, and is a large
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 of the Discworld books (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.
1.2 How many Discworld games are there?
----------
There are four games, the first is a text adventure 'The Colour of Magic'
available for the Spectrum. The problem is, it's very hard to play, given
you can spend ages trying to figure out the right command to do something.
The second game, is simply called Discworld, released originally by
Psygnosis / Sony Interactive, and created byPerfect Entertainment, which is
a point and click adventure, available (although to a lesser extent at the
moment) on PC, PC CDROM, Playstation, and Saturn. It was originally to be
called Discworld: The Trouble with Dragons, but eventually became just
'Discworld'.
The third game is Discworld 2: Missing, presumed... !? , produced again by
Perfect Entertainment, and published originally by Psygnosis. It is a
little easier than the original game, but is just as playable.
There's also a fourth game in development, called Discworld Noir, again
created by Perfect Entertainment but this time published by GT Interactive,
based around the somewhat darker adventures of Lewton, an ex-watchman and
the Discworld's first private detective as he tries to track down a missing
person and finds himself up to his eyeballs in trouble.
There is another avenue open to Discworld fans.. the Discworld MUD. This,
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 atmosphere
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?
----------
Discworld 1
----------
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 several 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.
Here are some of the characters which put in an appearance in Discworld 1:
Archchancellor Ridcully,
The Bursar
Carrot
Death
Detritus
Dibbler
Gaspode
The Librarian
The Luggage
Rincewind
Nanny Ogg
Nobby
The Patrician
Lady Ramkin
Mr Silverfish
Windle Poons
Discworld 2
----------
Discworld 2 adds a whole host of other characters and locations, as well as
many old favourites. The characters include:
Angus,
Archchancellor,
Alberto Malich,
The Bursar,
Cassanunda,
Coffin' Henry,
Count and Countess Notfaroutoe
The Dean,
Dibbler,
Duckman,
Foul Ole Ron,
Granny Weatherwax,
Greebo,
Ixolite the banshee,
Mad Drongo,
Ponder Stibbons,
Reg Shoe,
Rincewind,
Schleppel the bogeyman,
Skaz,
St Ungulant,
Susan Sto Helit,
The Luggage,
The Patrician,
Windle Poons.
You can find out more information about these characters by picking up a
copy of Discworld Companion from your local bookshop.
Discworld Noir
----------
Gaspode
Nobby
Vimes
1.4 Which Discworld books are the games based on?
----------
Discworld 1
----------
The game has a similar storyline 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), the book and the game have a number of things in common:
The basic 'dragon summoned up by slightly disturbed hidden order' premise,
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 the game and book end.
Discworld 2
----------
Discworld 2 features the welcome return of Rincewind, the wizzard. Welcome
to all that is, except the staff of Unseen University. In fact, to most of
Ankh-Morpork. Especially when, thanks to Rincewind's inept thaumatergical
meddling, Death goes missing. And without Death, things start running less
than smoothly. People stop dying properly, and something has to be done.
Guess who gets the job?
Discworld 2: Missing, presumed.. (or Mortality Bytes as it's known as in
the U.S), features characters and scenes from most of the Discworld books,
but the plot borrows bits from Reaper Man, and Moving Pictures, amongst
others.
Discworld Noir
----------
Discworld Noir is not based on any Discworld books and is instead a largely
original film noir style adventure that takes place in the seamier side of
Ankh-Morpork, although it does feature some locations from the books.
1.5 Game Development.
----------
Terry Pratchett (credited in Discworld 2 as 'Throwing rocks from afar'),
has had quite a lot of input as far as the Discworld games are concerned,
usually making sure Perfect get things right; at one point, he didn't like
the Librarian's voice in Discworld 2, so it was changed. Terry said:
'I've done everything I need to do, including a lot of work on the script,
but I've been doing so much lately I haven't had time to rattle the
programmers' cage.'
1.6 Perfect Entertainment
----------
Perfect Entertainment was previously two companies, Teeny Weeny Games, and
Perfect 10 which merged to become one company, Perfect Entertainment The
Discworld 2 credits list the following people as being involved in the
game;
Written, Directed and Produced by:
Gregg Barnett
Executive Producer:
Angela Sutherland
Programming Director:
David Johnston
Tinsel System Programmer:
John Young
Game Programmers:
David Johnston
Paul Carpenter
Mark Judge
Additional Programming:
Adrian Brown
Jason Brooke
Dialogue:
Paul Kidd
Animation Director and Lead Animator:
Simon Turner
Technical Art Director:
Paul Mitchell
Creative Art Director:
Nick Pratt
Chief Animators:
Steve Packer
Ben Willsher
Additional Animation:
David Swan
'That's Death' Animation:
Rob Newman
Layouts and Storyboard:
Nick Pratt
Lee Taylor
Animation Scripting:
Paul Mitchell
Guillaume Camus
David Hurst
Mark Booth
Simon Turner
External Animation Studio:
FilCartoon
Music Director and Composer:
Rob Lord
Sound Effects
Mark Bandola
Paul Weir
Voice Sample Conversion:
Jeremy Tranter
Noir also featured work from various other people, including those not
credited in the game - but I've misplaced the credit list I was sent and so
will put it in when I find it again.
However, Perfect have since gone out of business, possibly due to the money
spent on legal wranglings with Psygnosis, the former members of the team
being scattered far and wide. It does it seem unfair that a software
company like Perfect that produced three top games can go bust while the
likes of Ion Storm , having had millions of pounds just thrown at them to
produce Daikatana, a total travesty, can keep going. It's also bad news for
purchasers of Discworld Noir since it seems unlikely that a patch to fix
the bugs - see later for more details - in Noir will ever be released.
1.7 Where's Discworld?
----------
Recently, the rights to publish Discworld games have been transferred from
Psygnosis to GT Interactive, with Perfect Entertainment's latest Discworld
title, Discworld Noir, being published through GT. The effect of this is
that while Psygnosis do still provide support for previously bought copies
of Discworld 1+2, they are no longer producing new copies. GT may well
produce a Discworld double pack in the future, but for the moment the best
way to get hold of the Discworld games is to look through the various for
sale ads on the newsgroups or look in second hand game shops.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.Discworld 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.1 What's it all about?
----------
The plot of Discworld 1 is similar to 'Guards, Guards'. A typically nasty
secret order has summoned up a dragon, and is using it to wreak havoc upon
the city. But it's not down to Carrot and co to stop it. It's down to
Rincewind, the highly inept wizard. You take control of him, and try to
save the city from destruction, in a journey that takes you from
Ankh-Morpork to the edge of the Disc and beyond.
The game is currently available on Psygnosis' Argentium budget range.
2.2 What machine do I need to run it?
----------
To run the PC-CDROM version, you need 4MB of memory, with at least 2700K of
Extended Memory. The amount of base memory is not important, as Discworld
uses the DOS4GW DOS extender.. which treats all memory as one block. You
also need 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 a giraffe on an ice-rink.
Some sort of sound card is recommended.. you won't be able to hear the
sound or speech without it.
Discworld supports the following soundcards: Gravis Ultrasound,
Soundblaster,
Soundblaster Pro,
Soundblaster 16 and compatibles,
Adlib,
Roland,
Soundblaster AWE32.
Discworld CD uses around 1.6 meg of hard disk space. The system
requirements for the floppy version are almost identical, except that you
don't need a CD-ROM drive, and the game takes up more disk space - nearly
50 meg in total, so make sure you can get enough space together. The CD
version has just been released on budget at a new low price, so it's an
even better buy than before.
The Apple Mac version requires a Mac with System 7.0 upwards, 4.3 Meg of
memory, a CD Drive 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.
2.3 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 voiceovers are
done by:
Tony Robinson -Excellent Actor/Comedy Actor.. credits include BlackAdder,
Maid Marian and her Merry Men, and the voices for several Discworld
audio tapes. (a number of characters)
Jon Pertwee -Best remembered for Dr Who, and several other productions,
(Several Characters) Now dead, sadly.
Kate Robbins -Character/voice actress... Spitting Image
(Many Characters)
Rob Brydon -Character/voice actor.. Spitting Image again.
(All the other characters)
Apart from the voiceovers, there's only one difference between the floppy
and CD versions of Discworld. The difference is, that whilst the CD version
has full sound effects, the Discworld Floppy version only has music - the
speech and sound effects had to be dropped in order to fit the game on a
reasonable number of floppy disks.
2.4 How many different PC versions are there? Where can I get a demo?
----------
There are five versions of the full game, and two demos.. I've not seen a
Mac Discworld demo around. These versions are:
1: The PC floppy version, currently with no patch available. This is
currently the only floppy version available. There is no patch available
for this version.
2: The PC CD Version 1. This was the first version of Discworld to be
released, and was quite buggy. It has been superseded by Version 2.
3: The PC CD-ROM Version 2. Discworld: The Directors Cut. This is a
completely fixed version of the Discworld version 1.. with virtually every
bug removed. If you've bought Discworld 1 within the last couple of years,
you'll have this version.
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. Unfortunately, it's not being distributed any more, so you'll have a job
hunting down a copy.
5: The PC CD-ROM Version 3. Discworld: The Director's other cut. This is a
third version of thePC-CDROM Discworld game. It has had the final few
glitches fixed, and is apparently flawless. In the US, some copies of
Discworld 2 come with Discworld 1 version 3 included, and this version may
also be the version that has been released on Psygnosis' Argentium budget
range - I'll try and check this out.
There are also 2 demo versions. Version 1, the older version is a small
demo centred around the problem of getting the fishmongers belt.
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 several PC magazine CD coverdisks..
including the June 1995 Issue of PC Format.
2.5 Reported Bugs/Problems
----------
I've deleted the bug reports, since the bugs cropped up only in early
versions of Discworld 1 and have been fixed long ago. The currently
available version of Discworld 1 (Version 2) is bug-free.
2.6 Where can I get a patch/what does it fix?
----------
There are no patches for the currently available version of Discworld 1,
and a patch has not been released for the floppy disk version.
2.7 Discworld and Windows 95 / NT
----------
One or two people have reported problems running Discworld 1 under Windows
95. I've tried running Discworld 1 under Windows 95, and I didn't have any
problems. But if you do run into trouble, try closing down any other
applications you have running first. If you're still having problems, give
me a mail, and I'll try to help.
I haven't yet tried Discworld 1 under Windows NT, but I've not heard of
anyone having problems with NT and Discworld 1. If you have had problems,
mail me and let me know.
2.8 Technical Support + Troubleshooting
----------
Psygnosis / Sony Interactive can be emailed for Technical Support (the
support for Psygnosis's products is now being run by Activision) at
psygnosis@activision.com
Here's a few of the commonest problems I've come across. 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 set-up.
These, so far, relate to the PC versions. 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. This seems to be most common in Macs
produced since the game's release.
If you're still having problems, or don't know how to do certain things
mentioned here, please contact Psygnosis / Sony Interactive technical
support, or mail me.
DISCLAIMER .. if you screw up your computer doing these things (pretty
unlikely, but I'm covering my back), it's not my fault. Any PC fiddling is
done entirely at your own risk. Discworld 1:
Q: I've got Windows 95 installed, and...
A: While Windows 95 claims to do everything
you want it to do, it does have problems
running some Dos games (of which Discworld is one),
Q: The game or install routine locks up whenever I start the game..
A: This could be several 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 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 set-up with just himem.sys installed, and your CD drivers
if necessary..
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 unnecessary 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's no sound at all..
A: Try performing steps 1 + 2.. that is, changing the IRQ, and re-installing,
plus removing unnecessary 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.
A:If the sound quality is poor, then you can try changing the settings, as in
step 1, or moving your sound card away from the CPU inside the machine.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Discworld 2: Missing, presumed... !?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.1 What's it all about?
----------
Discworld 2 again features Rincewind in the starring role, but this time
he's not dealing with dragons, but Death himself. Thanks to a
thaumaturgical incident, Death has disappeared to the other side of the
Disc, and it's up to you to track him down. Eventually. You first have to
find out where he's got to. Discworld 2 is split into four acts, each with
a different aim, much like Discworld 1.
The user interface has undergone a few changes - you can now place objects
in the luggage by double clicking an object on it. Also, all the icons are
animated, with other tweaks here and there. For example, you'll no longer
get 'I can't do that', when you try to use an object in the wrong place.
You'll get a message appropriate to that item; if you try to use the ice
block on Granny Weatherwax, you'll be told that 'That doesn't need cooling
down. Then there's the graphics. They have completely changed since the
previous games. The entire game is now in SVGA, with all the graphics
looking much sharper and more cartoony than the original. Not that there
was anything wrong with the first game's graphics, but there's still a huge
contrast; an animation system called ' Toonz' has been used to convert the
hand drawn animation frames in the game. Discworl>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transfer interrupted!
to co-ordinate the characters and items on-screen.
The voice talent includes Eric Idle, reprising his role as Rincewind, with
Rob Brydon and Kate Robbins bringing many of the other Discworld characters
to life. And Nigel Planer (who played Neil in The Young Ones) has added his
talents to the production; he provides the voices to several characters,
including a Neil type hippy character. Discworld 2 runs under both DOS and
Windows 95, both versions appearing on the same CD, and it's damn good.
There's also only one version as far as I know. There's also a song,
'That's Death'. There are various different non-english versions as well,
which have speech, but they don't have the same people doing the voices as
the english version does. Discworld 2 is also slightly easier to solve than
Discworld 1, but it's still no walkover.
Discworld 2 was originally on Psygnosis' Argentium budget range, for ten to
fourteen quid, but is now a lot harder to come by
3.2 What machine do I need to run it?
----------
Discworld 2 is currently available only on PC CD-Rom. The minimum
requirements are:
486DX4 66Mhz,
16 MB of RAM for Win 95 version, 8MB for MS-DOS version (MS-DOS 6.0 or
later),
640X480 256 colour SVGA display,
Double-speed CD-ROM drive,
Sound card and amplified speakers or headphones,
Single-hemisphere electro-colloidal brain with cognitive functions.
And the recommended specs are:
Pentium 90 Mhz or greater IBM-compatible computer,
Twin-hemisphere electro-colloidal brain with cognitive functions.
Both MS-DOS and Windows 95 versions are included on the CDs, so you can run
under either operating system. And while the game comes on 2CDs, you only
need to the swap CDs once in the course of a game.
3.3 Where can I get a demo?
----------
There is a demo available on various magazine coverdisks. Bear in mind that
the demo version you get may not reflect the current state of the game; the
demo appearing on PC Zone's cover CD was over two months old when it was
published. The demo allows you to explore the shades, with the aim of
getting onto a ship to take you out of Ankh-Morpork.
The demo includes approximately four puzzles, and introduces you to the
Dead Collector, the Mortician, Foul Ole Ron, Coffin Henry, and Duckman. The
demo itself can can be zipped up into a 44 meg file but unfortunately, I
don't have the disk space in my user area to upload this; I'll keep you
posted if anyone puts it on an FTP site. Note; at the time of writing, the
demo version I have seen runs under Windows 95 only, so while the final
version will run under DOS, it's worth checking in the magazine quickly, if
you're buying the mag just for the demo.
The December 1996 issue of PC Gamer UK (Issue 37) also has a Discworld 2
demo on the cover, but it seems to be exactly the same one as the PC Zone
demo. You may have to back-order an issue to get hold of the demo. Or you
could just take my word for it that Discworld 2 is brilliant.
3.4 Reported Bugs/Problems
----------
A few Discworld 2 bugs have been reported:
First is the program crashing with a corrupt 'DINING.MUS' file. This has
only happened to a few people; if this crops up, you should try taking your
CD back to the shop and getting a new one.. it may just be that you have a
faulty CD.
Secondly, several people have been unable run the game properly under Win
95 if it's installed to driver other than the CD drive. This is fixed in
the patch.
Also, some people have reported various problems, such as not being able to
get the ladder from Casanunda, or finding that various characters have
disappeared. This problem can also be caused by loading saved games from
Discworld 2 DOS into Discworld 2 for Windows 95. The patch fixes the bug
that causes these problems. You may have to reload a previous saved game if
you came across the bug before applying the patch. If you have problems
getting the ladder, or getting Granny Weatherwax to tell you about the
elves, make sure you apply the patch before contacting Psygnosis, or myself
about it.
3.5 Where can I get a patch/What does it fix?
----------
There is a patch out for Discworld 2, and David Johnston, Software Manager
bloke at Perfect has the following to say about it:
Patch #3 (for both DOS and Windows versions) is designed to fix a random
bug found to occur in save-game files. It also improves CD-ROM access on
certain types of machines. The list of fixes follows:
- A bug in the loading of games caused specific characters to disappear.
This random bug could affect Rincewind's Camel in act IV, the appearance of
Cassanunda in Djelibeybi and one conversation with the Dead Collector. In
the case of the Camel in Act IV this can make it impossible to continue the
game. This problem has been fixed. The conditions under which it occurred
were random and rare enough that, unfortunately, it was not caught by the
rigorous testing applied to Discworld II - honest, we didn't mean it :)
- As this patch cannot correct existing save games we have provided a save
game for the most common occurrence of the bug - the missing camel. The
game has been saved at the start of Act IV - with Rincewind's camel
present. This will allow anyone with the missing camel problem to continue
the game to it's humorous conclusion. The title of the saved game is
'Virtual Camel Restored!'. The file is called SG.1 and needs to be copied
to your save game directory. For the DOS version it should be placed in the
\DW2\SAVE directory. For Win 95 it should be placed in the \Program
Files\Discworld II\Save folder.
- Some CD-ROM drives (very rare) can have trouble reading the Discworld II
CD-ROMs and after a while a 'file ?????.??? is corrupt' message may occur.
We have altered the game to try a lot harder to wring the data from these
drive.
- The game now makes slightly more efficient use of memory during startup.
This will only affect minimum-spec-memory machines (eg. 8Mb DOS, 16Mb
Win95).
- A trivial bug causing the inventory window to corrupt graphically (and
allowing people to be dragged and dropped in the inventory!) has been
corrected. For those of you that found (and enjoyed) this bug, sorry, we've
fixed it!
- Corrects movie synchronisation on specific machines where the sound can
drift out of sync. Also improves performance of movies on slower machines.
- Speeds up loading and playing of many scenes especially on low-memory
machines.
- Corrects the system registry so that the game will run from whatever
drive you install it to (Install the game to the drive you want it on then
run the patch).
----------
You can get the patch from:
----------
The Discworld Game Page, in the 'Files' section:
/games/discworld/files.html
----------
The Patches Scrolls: http://www.patches-scrolls.de/
----------
Or by FTP from:
ftp://ftp.mirror.sk/pub/dlh/pub/patches/pc-patches/general-patches/dw2ptch3.zip
----------
Or from the L-Space Archives, at:
ftp://ftp.lspace.org/pub/pratchett/games/discworld2/dw2ptch3.zip
----------
3.6 Discworld and Windows 95 / OS 2 / NT
----------
Discworld 2 runs under both Dos and Windows 95, so there shouldn't be many
problems with at all with running under Windows 95. If you do have any
problems, you should try running the Dos version of Discworld 2 in a DOS
box under Windows 95 - in general, DOS versions of games run more smoothly
than Windows 95 native versions of the same games do, and Discworld 2 is no
exception.
Some people have reported having problems running Discworld 2 under Windows
NT - if all else fails, try running the DOS version under Windows 95. Could
any NT users out there let me know if you've managed to get Discworld 2 to
run successfully, or if you've had problems?
As for running under OS/2, Discworld 2 hasn't been written or tested for
OS/2, and the Dos version may or may not work under the system. However,
I've been sent an email by Oliver Buettner in which he says that the
following OS2 settings should allow you to run Discworld 2:
----------
Discworld 2 works under OS/2 (tested under Warp 4) . You only have to do
some changes in the DOS-Session parameters:
INTDURINGIO: ON
IDLE SENSITIVY: 100
SESSION PRIORITY: 32
AUDIO ADAPTER SHARING: REQUIRED
VIDEO_8514AXGAIOTRAP: OFF
I don't know, if they are all necessary but these are the corrections I
have made and it works. I'm using a SB32 and so I also had to add the 'SET
BLASTER=...'-statement to my autoexec but this is required for all
DOS-games (like most of the session parameters). And I don't have any
memory problems running Discworld under OS/2 like I had under DOS! But I
still have one problem: after some minutes (quite irregular) the sound
starts to crackle. I don't know if this is a specific SB32 - OS/2 - DOS-Box
problem but I don't think so. I don't know how to fix it yet.
3.7 That's Death
----------
That's Death, is a song written and performed by Eric Idle, especially for
Discworld 2. As well as featuring in Discworld 2, That's Death has appeared
as an audio track on a couple of magazine coverdisks, and was given away as
a CD single with Discworld 2 by some stores. Should you feel the strange
desire to know the words to the song, here they are;
----------
There's a place you're always welcome,
It's as nice as it can be,
Everyone can get in,
'cos it's absolutely free..
That's Death.
No need to take a rest,
Just lie around all day,
With not a single bill to pay,
Hooray...
That's Death,
No more sicknesses or flu..
If you've lived beyond your means,
You can die beyond them, too,
Boo-hoo...
Well, the greatest and the finest,
Mmm, have already died,
Why not simply join them,
On the other side?
That's Death..
Say farewell to all your ills,
Rip up all your bills,
And pop your final pills,
Amen..
That's Death...
It's a tete a tete with fate,
If you're not feeling great,
Then it's the best way to lose weight,
Mate...
Nothing here to hurt you,
No-one's here to nag,
Come die with me,
If your life's a drag...
That's Death...
Death, Death,
The wealthy and well bred,
All of them are here,
And they're all completely dead,
So dead,
That's Death,
Death, Death,
No more headaches, no more pain,
Of the millions who've died,
No-one came back to complain,
Uh-huh..
You can't take it with you,
You can't keep what you've got,
So why not just lie back,
And simply rot?
Death, Death,
Just simply rot,
Death, Death,
It's so cool, it's hot,
Death, Death,
And That's Death.
3.8 Technical Support and Troubleshooting;
----------
David Johnston from Perfect Entertainment has put together several
Questions and Answers to aid people who have technical problems with
Discworld 2, which are as follows:
----------
Q. Why won't Discworld II (Win 95) run if I install it to a drive other
than C?
A. The Windows installation program on early versions of Discworld II set a
system 'registry key' to 'C' regardless of the drive it installed to. To
correct this you need to change the registry key to point to the drive you
did install Discworld II on (see below). Or you can simply run the patch
program to correct it automatically.
- Run 'regedit' from the 'Start' menu, 'Run' option.
- Expand 'HKEYLOCALMACHINE' (click on the plus symbol)
- Expand 'SOFTWARE'
- Expand 'Perfect Entertainment'
- Select 'Discworld II'
- Select 'Drive' in the right-hand window
- Select 'Edit' then 'Modify' from the menu
- Enter the new drive letter (where you installed Discworld II)
- Close RegEdit and run Discworld II
----------
Q. Why does the game (Windows only) pause briefly whenever Rincewind
changes scale?
A. The Windows installation program on early versions of Discworld II
copied some files to the wrong place on your hard drive. If you move these
files (see below) to the correct folder the momentary pauses will
disappear. Or you can simply run the patch program to correct it
automatically. n.b. this problem may only be visible on machines with the
minimum specified amount of RAM. See also the following tip for speeding up
CD access generally.
- There is a folder called CACHE under the folder you installed Discworld
II in. The installation program incorrectly copied 21 files (needed for
faster access) into a folder called DW2 within the CACHE folder. Simply
move the files back to the CACHE folder and the pauses should vanish.
----------
Q. My CD ROM drive does not appear to be fast enough to run Discworld II
properly. The sound cuts out briefly every now and then. How can I speed
the game up on my machine?
A. This is a tough one as it depends on the configuration of your machine.
If you have a lot of free drive space you can move many files from the
Discworld II CDs to your hard drive (see below). Discworld II still
requires the presence of the CDs but will check the hard disk first before
loading files, this will speed up the game significantly.
- There is a folder called CACHE under the folder you installed Discworld
II in. Most files can be copied here from the DW2 folders of either CD 1 or
CD 2, however, some files (of the same name) are different on CD1 and CD 2.
To cater for these specific files you can create folders under the CACHE
folder called CD1 and CD2. The files in question relate to text and speech
and have extensions of .SMP, .TXT and .IDX (see following hint for
details). Any of these files from the DW2 folder of CD 1 can go in CD1 and
those from the DW2 folder of CD 2 can go in CD2. n.b. To save space you
only have to have files from the CD you are currently playing on your hard
drive.
----------
Q. I only want to copy some files from the CDs to my hard drive to speed it
up. What are the various file types on the Discworld II CDs?
A. To make your choice of files to copy easier here are some details of the
more important file types on the Discworld II CDs. The CACHE folder is
found within the folder you installed Discworld II. The CD1 and CD2 folders
should be created within the CACHE folder (if required).
File Where to
Type Description Should I copy to hard disk? copy...
Reduces CD access significantly if
copied to hard disk as music is
.MUS Music data read in regularly. Should improve CACHE folder
scenes containing lots of sound
effects.
Scene load times reduced if copied
to hard disk - no other benefit.
.SCN Code and n.b. some critical scenes are CACHE folder
graphics
already copied to hard disk during
installation.
Smoothes out brief pauses while
.CDP Graphic loading extra graphics within a CACHE folder
sequences
scene.
Only copy to hard drive if the
movies are playing badly or sound
.BMV 'B movies' shuts off. Movie pre-load times CACHE folder
are also reduced if the movies are
copied.
Only copy to hard drive if you are
.SMP Speech experiencing regular sound CD1 or CD2
glitches. folder
.IDX Speech index Loaded once only - can stay on CD. CD1 or CD2
folder
.TXT Sub-title text Loaded once only - can stay on CD. CD1 or CD2
folder
----------
Q. Why is the sound in Discworld II distorting when running under Windows
95 on my Packard Bell PC?
A. There may be a conflict with the 'Software Wave Table' feature of your
sound card. Try turning the option off (See below).
- Open the control panel (under 'setting' on the Start menu)
- Open 'system'
- Select 'Device Manager'
- Expand 'Sound, video and game controllers' (click on the plus symbol)
- Select 'Sound 16 SRS and Wave Table'
- Click on the 'Properties' button
- Select 'Settings'
- De-select the option 'Software Wave Table Enabled'
- Close the control panel windows and run Discworld II
3.9 Easter Eggs
----------
Discworld 2 also contains a few Easter Eggs - hidden features or sequences
that you don't normally see. Some are activated by keypresses or command
line sequences, others by using objects in a certain way. Here's all the
ones I know about, and according to David Johnston, head programmer at
Perfect, there are more to be found:
1: In Act 2, try using the special effects imp on Rincewind
2: Also in Act 2, if you enter the magic stone circle ten times, Rincewind
takes a trip back in time.. to meet his Discworld 1 counterpart.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Discworld Noir
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.1 What's it all about?
Discworld Noir pays homage to film noir, and is a much darker game than
previous offerings. It follows the adventures of Lewton, an ex-watchman and
the Discworld's first Private Investigator, as he investigates his way
through the Disc's seedy underworld. Without giving too much of the plot
away, it does involve a femme fatale, an old flame, a stolen artifact, an
evil cult and plenty of plot twists and turns. All the graphics are
rendered in 3D, rather than being hand drawn although the game itself isn't
a 3D game. Investigation isn't a matter of picking up items and using them
on items, as you had to do in previous games. Instead, you have to talk to
people, follow up clues, and generally figure out who the bad guys are and
who, if anyone, can be trusted. The game is available for both PC and
Playstation and is worth checking out.
4.2 Reported bugs / problems.
Ah... now we hit a sticking point. While Noir is an involving and
entertaining game, it's pretty damn buggy - the game itself won't install
on Windows 95 release 1 in its original form. There is a patch for this
problem available here - but said patch wasn't written by GT or Perfect.
Nope, it was knocked up by yours truly - in fact, I rung GT's tech support
line in the UK and asked about the problem, they directed me to this file
on these very pages. Which may well have helped boost traffic to this site
a little bit but it seems absurd that GT have never done anything about
this themselves. Or, indeed, any of the other problems that have been
reported such as use of the Notebook crashing peoples PCs, the game
breaking down randomly and a myriad other problems. The advice they give is
to press ctrl-alt-del and kill everything apart from systray and explorer
which does work sometimes reportedly. Although it's hardly a satisfactory
solution, and with Perfect having gone under and GT being taken over by
Infograms it looks like a patch will never be forthcoming,
------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. I'm stuck!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
There's already a walkthrough for Discworld 1, but a lot of people have
asked for specific hints, not spoilers. I've written a hint file which goes
through most of the common problems in the game, giving nudges, hints, and
then spoilers. It is available at the same site as the faq.
Discworld 2
----------
I've written a walkthrough for Discworld 2 which is available at the same
site as this faq.
The walkthru for Discworld 2 can be found at:
----------
The Discworld Game Pages: /games/discworld
----------
The L-Space Archives:
ftp://ftp.lspace.org/pub/pratchett/games/discworld2/walkthru.txt
----------
The Spoilers Centre:
http://www.the-spoiler.com/ADVENTURE/Psygnosis/Discworld.2.html
----------
Also, hints for Discworld 2 can be found at:
----------
The Discworld Game Pages: /games/discworld
----------
The L-Space Archives...
ftp://ftp.lspace.org/pub/pratchett/games/discworld2/dw2hints.txt
----------
Discworld Noir Hints
Hints and a solution to Discworld Noir can be found on these pages here
You can mail me if you have a question that isn't included in the faq, but
please include the word 'Discworld' in the subject, so I can separate
Discworld queries from my other mail.
Hint Books
----------
There are official hints books available for Discworld 1, and Discworld 2,
both sold separately. They should be available in most decent software
stores, and some bookshops, or if you can't find the Discworld 2 hint book,
you can order it using the form in the back of your manual.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. The Colour of Magic
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Colour of Magic was originally programmed for the Spectrum 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 is a must.
Unfortunately, the text interface is crap, requiring you to figure out the
exact phrase you need to perform an action. And the game penalises you if
you don't perform some obscure action earlier in the game. You're best off
sticking with Perfect's Discworld games.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. The Discworld MUD
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Discworld MUD is a Multi-User-Dungeon game, set on the Discworld. If
you have a telnet program, you can reach it by telnetting to:
discworld.imaginary.com 4242 The Mud contains many of the locations and
characters from the book, behaving as you'd expect them to. You can create
a player character straight away, but you are requested not to use a
character from the book. You can be as nasty or as nice to the denizens as
you like (though courtesy to other human players is a good idea), so check
it out.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Coming Attractions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
7.1 Other Discworld Games
----------
Given that Perfect have given up the ghost it appears unlikely that any
more Discworld games will be forthcoming.
7.2 Discworld on other formats
Mac Discworld 1:
----------
Discworld 1 was originally available for the Apple Mac, on CD only. It's
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. Unfortunately, it's not being
distributed or manufactured any more.
It has been suggested that it is System 7.5.1 that causes the problem.
There is now a patch available from the L-Space archives:
ftp://ftp.lspace.org/pub/pratchett/games/discworld/discworld-update.sea.hqx
Tim Arnot has this to say about the Mac version of Discworld 1 (bear in
mind that many of the problems mentioned have been since fixed by the
patch.
----------
This is a summary to alt.fan.pratchett of the major problems found in the
Mac version of the DISCWORLD game. My thanks to Dave Le Good ), Peter Young
and Richard Barrett for additional information, plus a whole host of other
folks for expressing an interest.
Note 1: This report does not concern itself with problems that may be
encountered during gameplay, nor does it contain any spoilers. It simply
addresses the question 'will it run on my Mac'
Note 2: This article was originally sent out to some people in draft form
for comment. Comments to the draft have been added in brackets [] with
appropriate attributions.
1. Solvable problem: 'Error: Discworld is unable to find the Discworld CD'
It seems this is caused by having file sharing switched on. Cure: Turn off
file sharing. (actually I believe this may related to a bug in System 7.5.1
that produces CD errors with various combinations of file sharing, SCSI
manager and RAM Doubler. It is reputedly fixed by System 7.5 Update 2.0)
[This error can also happen if you do not have a late version on the ISO
9660 file access extension, as on my 475. v5.0.2 works. - Dave]
[The release note with Connectix' RAMDoubler updater for 1.5.1 says
(amongst other things):
a. RAM Doubler no longer causes folders to appear 'missing' on some Macs
when Apple CD-ROM 5.0 and file sharing are in use simultaneously.
b. Certain CD-ROM sound files now play with RAM Doubler installed.
Its available :
Er - who knows? Because unfortunately the link to the patch no longer works
- I'll see if I can dig out a new link.
I've used the updater to fix a RAMDoubler incompatibility with the 603
processor in my 5200. I can't comment on other benefits claimed by the
release note but Connectix were prompt and professional in dealing with the
603 problem so I'd be fairly optimistic. - Richard]
2. Unsolvable problem: The program crashes PowerMacs on startup. (The exact
symptoms seem to vary - sometimes the machine just freezes, other times it
displays an exception alert.) This problem only affects Power Macs, but
curiously, not all Power Macs (we have been unable to determine what
specific factors cause it to work or fail) A summary of machines is
included below (amount of real memory installed is specified where known):
Power Macs on which the game has worked:
7100/80 av cd (16Mb)
6100/60
8100/80
Power Macs on which the game has not worked
Performa 5200 (24Mb)
6100/66 (24Mb)
7100/66 (x3) (24Mb/32Mb/??)
9500/120 (x2)
8100/80 (x3)
Quadra 650 w. PPC Upgrade card (32Mb)
Totals: Success 3, Failure 10
According to one of the playtesters at Psygnosis (identity withheld from
this summary), it has been tested and found to work on the following
PowerMac systems:
Machine RAM (Mb) MacOS
PowerMac 8100/100av49 7.5
PowerMac 6100/60 17 7.1.2
PowerMac 6100/60 11 7.1
PowerMac 6100/60 21 7.1.2
[Wierd memory configurations. How when all the machines involved take 72
pin SIMMs (which usually come in 4,8,16 and 32 Mb) installed in pairs can
you end up with Mbs which aren't a multiple of four let alone an odd
number? This could be the explanation. - Richard]
3. A Dealer Comment
I called up a Mail Order Mac software dealer this morning (MacGold Direct,
01723-582100), and the first thing the sales assistant said when I enquired
about the program was 'Do you have a PowerMac?' 'Why?' says I, 'Because
we've been told that it doesn't run on PowerMacs' When I asked who had told
them (i.e. Psygnosis or the users), she said that she didn't know for sure
but presumed it was from user feedback.
[I did talk to their helpline (0151 282 3333) today. On the fourth try they
finally answered the phone. Paraphrasing, the guy said, sorry guv I'm a PC
expert not a Mac man, they're out to lunch! When pressed he more or less
said:
a. that it didn't work right on the PowerMac
b. that there had also been troubles on the PC version
c. a fixed CD would take a couple of months
d. there was no current plan to publish fixed software via the net (a fix
for the PC version is available this way i believe)(there is now a patch
available online - see the previous section of the faq)
This conversation (being the fourth over the period of a week) did not give
me a warm and fuzzy about Psygnosis or the product developers. Frankly,
Psygnosis' people don't seem to have a clue about the problem or what's
being done to fix it. Its amateur night in dixie. - Richard]
4. Conclusion:
If you have a 68K Mac, it works fine (or can be made to do so if you suffer
from problem #1 above). If you have a PowerMac, at least one dealer claims
it won't work, and based on our collection of machines you may have a
3-in-10 chance of it working (caveat: 601-based machines only. None of our
603- or 604-based machines has had it working).
Time, I think for Psygnosis to get their finger out.
Tim.
--end article---
----------
Playstation and Saturn Discworld 1:
----------
Discworld is also available for the Saturn and Playstation. I've not had
any reports of problems with those versions. However, if you want to save
your game on the Playstation version, you'll need a memory card.
Mac Discworld 2:
----------
There are no plans to produce Mac Discworld 2 at the time of writing,
though Perfect told me it wouldn't be that hard to convert. Apparently, Mac
Discworld 1 sold relatively few copies compared to Discworld on other
formats.
Playstation and Saturn Discworld 2:
----------
Discworld 2 is currently available on both the Playstation and Saturn
consoles, and both versions look pretty good.
7.4 The Discworld Desktop Theme
----------
There's a Discworld 2 Windows 95 theme available - to install it you'll
need Windows 95 and the Windows 95 Plus Pack. The theme was available from
the Download section of Perfect Entertainment's web page. However, the site
is currently out of action, so I'm trying to get the theme uploaded to
these pages.
1 The theme pack is just over three meg in size, and comes with a strangely
psychadelic screen saver included.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Credits and Feedback
------------------------------------------------------------------------
8.1 Where can I get latest version of the faq?
----------
The text version is available via FTP at the following site..
ftp://ftp.lspace.org/pub/pratchett/faqs/discworld-game-faq
The html version is available on the web at this address:
/games/discworld
8.2 The Discworld Game Page
----------
There's also a Discworld Game Page (with screenshots, and an HTMLed hint
file, new info, and lots of other stuff - you can find it at:
/games/discworld
8.3 Credits.
----------
Terry Pratchett, for writing the Discworld books in the first place.
Psygnosis and Perfect Entertainment and co, for producing a great game.
Luci Black and Gregg Barnett, for creating the game, and giving me all
sorts of information on the games. Malwen, for sending me the Z80 Snapshot
of the Colour of Magic..
The numerous people who mailed me with minor corrections, mainly to tell me
about the 'Guards! Guards!' book...
Tim Arnot, Dave Peto and dave@minuet for Mac DW info..
Oliver Buettner for the OS2 Warp info
All of alt.fan.pratchett...
FEEDBACK: Let me know what you think of the FAQ, and mail me if you have
any comments, criticism, ideas etc..
Chris McMullen,
ChrisMc@lspace.org