DIY on Clear Speed of Text Boxes Before Death Screens in SQ3?

[ArthurWalden]

I have been playing Space Quest 3 and have come across an issue which might seem trivial for some but is causing me some difficulties because of the way I play the game.

In some death events, the text box displayed right before the death box (i.e. the one where you restore, restart, or quit) clears from the screen too quickly, making it difficult to read, particularly if you are trying to read aloud (like I do). I opened a ticket for this and they concluded this was a problem in which each death scene was coded separately with no overriding controls, so some but not all of the death scenes are affected and there is no quick way to fix it. Instead, it would require changing each scene manually. Here is the ticket:

https://bugs.scummvm.org/ticket/15363

Because of the huge time commitment this would require, it is not clear if anyone will ever be able to resolve this issue or when they might do so.

In light of that, I was wondering if there was a way I could personally do so. I would need help with this, however. If necessary, I could play the game, note all the death scenes affected by this problem, and report it to ScummVM.

[Raziel]

not sure if that would help...but you can report all your findings to your already open bug item...it won't get forgotten this way and maybe, if someone picks ut up some day, you can share more details, if asked for them

[eriktorbjorn]

Assuming the pattern to look for in sluicebox's decompiled scripts is:

Code: Select all

        (cls)
        (EgoDead ...)

(I believe that means it clears the message box itself, rather than waiting for the player to dismiss it. Of course, the actual time-out is set up elsewhere.)

Then it's (at least) the following deaths:

• "You stepped off the rail! You're dead again. Way to go. Haven't we taught you anything?"
• "Shredded like an Iran-Contra document, your many independent parts flutter to the bottom of the hopper. This is of little importance to you, what with your being dead and all."
• "You stepped off the conveyer. You're dead again. Way to go. Haven't we taught you anything?"
• "You step on a part of the track which is extremely narrow and greasy. It obviously wasn't designed for human foot travel. It's a quick drop to the unforgiving surface below."

So it might not be that much work for someone who has the expertise - which I don't - to simply lengthen the time-out. Though the first of the messages happens in several places.