scoriae wrote:Your suggesting not only compressed sound, but compressed data as well.
Actually I was only referring to the voice files being compressed, but that was to fit within the 128MB limit. If using the 256MB limit elsewhere referred to then perhaps it could be done without any compression and run without problems on the DS.
scoriae wrote:And yes, there are a few 256meg carts running around. They cost more to produce, so they are typically avoided like the plague. Does lucas arts think they can turn a profit on re-releasing old adventture games.... maybe. Dot hey think its worth using the most expensive carts available, using heavy compression, and dealing with all the technical issues that come along with that? Hell no.
Well, when LucasArts re-released their later games in recent times, they actually added a Windows executable that wasn't available before, so they must have cared enough to actually develop something.
In the grander scheme of things if LucasArts actually wanted to, they could by using ScummVM. (I know this flies in the face of other things that have happened but it's a possibility), thus reducing the cost of development. If space was really a problem, it is documented that there is unused graphics in the datafiles, so these could be stripped out to reclaim every last byte of space.
It seems to me that they're not going to bother re-releasing the older games; you can't even buy them last time I checked for PC - not even the Monkey bounty pack.
scoriae wrote:Just look at Vivindi's dosbox re-release of the sierra games if you want to see how seriously publishers take re-releases.
Regarding the Sierra re-releases, it seems more like a way to make a quick couple of bucks since it's hardly polished or particularly well handled. I notice they took the time to bundle a custom installer, which looks a lot like the Windows Sierra installers of old.
The result is I think here LucasArts have found a reason they can hold up to the public as a why they won't do it, despite the fact that it can be argued against. ScummVM's DS port is proof that it can be done, but LucasArts don't actually want to. Cost may be one factor but I suspect it's because anything bearing the names Star Wars and Indiana Jones simply sell more with less real innovative effort.
I'm sure I remember reading somewhere a comment about LucasArts - something about giving the sales guys a game with the words Star Wars in the title, and they can sell it. Give them anything else and they'll have trouble.
*breath* Sorry about the rant.
