Secret of Monkey Island, The (Alternative PC VGA CD)?

[ZildjianKX]

I know there are a lot of versions of the Secret of Monkey Island, I was just trying to figure out the differences in the PC VGA CD version, the alternative PC VGA CD version, and the FM Towns version.

My guess is the FM Towns version is identical to the CD version, but without CD audio but with midi, and the two CD versions are identical?

Which is the "best" version of the Secret of Monkey Island?

Also is the FM-Towns version the "best" version of Monkey Island 2 because of the better sound effects?

[joachimeberhard]

The difference between VGA CD and ALternative VGA CD is only filenaming.

While VGA CD from Bounty Pack or the original SOMI CD uses MONKEY.*, Alternative CD from Monkey Madness (afaik) uses MONKEY1.*.

There are no other differences, not even in the files themselves.

The FM-Towns version is exactly the same, just for a different platform.

There are no real differences.

Monkey2Towns has some sound-fx more, but also more bugs with ScummVM.

So in general, for MI1+2 the DOS versions are better suited for ScummVM, and you miss nothing.

[ZildjianKX]

The difference between VGA CD and ALternative VGA CD is only filenaming.

While VGA CD from Bounty Pack or the original SOMI CD uses MONKEY.*, Alternative CD from Monkey Madness (afaik) uses MONKEY1.*.

There are no other differences, not even in the files themselves.

The FM-Towns version is exactly the same, just for a different platform.

There are no real differences.

Monkey2Towns has some sound-fx more, but also more bugs with ScummVM.

So in general, for MI1+2 the DOS versions are better suited for ScummVM, and you miss nothing.

Thanks for the very thorough response. So many versions of these great games made it becomes tough to figure out the differences

Did every version of the DOS version of Monkey Island 2 come with the security mechanism at the beginning? I was thinking it was removed from the Monkey Island Madness version.

Thanks again.

[joachimeberhard]

Did every version of the DOS version of Monkey Island 2 come with the security mechanism at the beginning? I was thinking it was removed from the Monkey Island Madness version.

Thanks again.

Yes, the exe file was changed later for some CD-releases, but the resource files are identical.

The exe with the version 5.2.28cd skips the lame-o-copyprotection and the possibility to choose a path, you always start directly in the full mode (no lite mode choosable).

Also, with this exe, you can choose a savepath, whereas the other exe always uses currentdir as savepath.

Edit: Also worth mentioning: You can swap the exes from MI2 between all languages and releases, they always work, and offer their differences.

[JKing]

The exe with the version 5.2.28cd skips the lame-o-copyprotection and the possibility to choose a path, you always start directly in the full mode (no lite mode choosable).

Is there a bootparam to replicate this in ScummVM? I always found that going straight to Guybrush "hanging out" presented a better experience---plus there's no having to wait to load a saved game...

[ZildjianKX]

Did every version of the DOS version of Monkey Island 2 come with the security mechanism at the beginning? I was thinking it was removed from the Monkey Island Madness version.

Thanks again.

Yes, the exe file was changed later for some CD-releases, but the resource files are identical.

The exe with the version 5.2.28cd skips the lame-o-copyprotection and the possibility to choose a path, you always start directly in the full mode (no lite mode choosable).

Also, with this exe, you can choose a savepath, whereas the other exe always uses currentdir as savepath.

Edit: Also worth mentioning: You can swap the exes from MI2 between all languages and releases, they always work, and offer their differences.

Do you know what release of Monkey Island 2 is 5.2.28cd? I just tried out Monkey Island Madness, which was the latest release of Monkey Island 2 ever made I think. If you run it via the CD loader on the disc, it skips straight to Guybrush hanging. If you load the Monkey2 folder from the CD in ScummVM, it does the copy protection thing, weird.

[joachimeberhard]

Yes, the exe file was changed later for some CD-releases, but the resource files are identical.

Do you know what release of Monkey Island 2 is 5.2.28cd? I just tried out Monkey Island Madness, which was the latest release of Monkey Island 2 ever made I think. If you run it via the CD loader on the disc, it skips straight to Guybrush hanging. If you load the Monkey2 folder from the CD in ScummVM, it does the copy protection thing, weird.

As I said, the resource files are identical.
The exe skips the copyprot, not the resources.

Since ScummVM ingnores the exe files anyway, it brings up the copyprot screen, then bypasses it, and you get to choose the path.

So, W/O copyprot screen, no freedom to choose paths, and therefore ScummVM displays it.

[ZildjianKX]

Yes, the exe file was changed later for some CD-releases, but the resource files are identical.

Do you know what release of Monkey Island 2 is 5.2.28cd? I just tried out Monkey Island Madness, which was the latest release of Monkey Island 2 ever made I think. If you run it via the CD loader on the disc, it skips straight to Guybrush hanging. If you load the Monkey2 folder from the CD in ScummVM, it does the copy protection thing, weird.

As I said, the resource files are identical.
The exe skips the copyprot, not the resources.

Since ScummVM ingnores the exe files anyway, it brings up the copyprot screen, then bypasses it, and you get to choose the path.

So, W/O copyprot screen, no freedom to choose paths, and therefore ScummVM displays it.

Oh sorry, I didn't read your post carefully enough. Thanks.