Click here to print this
 

Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers Help

Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers's original requirements:

MS-DOS 5.0 or Windows 3.0 or greater
286 or better
2x CD-ROM
4 MB RAM
6 MB Hard drive space minimum
VGA
Roland MT-32/LAPC-1/CM32-L, Ad-Lib, SoundBlaster, PS/1 or Game Blaster
Mouse

 

Space Quest 4 CD Version Comprehensive Update - by NewRisingSun
This update contains the following improvements for the CD-Rom version of SQ4:

  • Floppy version graphics
  • Symultanious speech and subtitles
  • Corrected timing
  • Various bug fixes
  • Added room of "stuff removed for legal reasons" (no speech there).
  • Readded removed Radio Shock products (no speech there).
  • Adds"Stunt Flyer" and "Dacron Danny" bargain bin games.
  • Adds priority information to sound resources.
  • Orbs now emit sound during captiveScript sequence.
  • Removed volume change during speech output. If the music is too loud, lower the volume in the game's control panel.
  • Fixed scrolling in the video driver.
  • RESOURCE.000 is no longer PKDCL-compressed. This means shorter loading times for DosBox users and yields better compression ratios for the .zip archive as a whole.

The windows interpreter called "SCIWV" is neither included nor supported. Don't use previous saved games. Please note that this update replaces the need for the other patches.

Audio Problems

Audio problems are common in the later Sierra DOS SCI games. There's no single fix for all these games. You can try the Windows version, if running on 32-bit Windows.

Problem - Poor Quality / No Sound (Win9x and XP):
The game has no sound or the music is of poor quality.

Solution 1 (preferred):
Play the game in DOSBox. It also will work with the MT-32 sound module, if you are fortunate to have one.

Solution 2:
Use VDMSound. The game work well with VDMSound. The sound will be as good as your audio hardware, and as with DOSBox, it works with the MT-32 sound module.

Solution 3:
Play the game with FreeSCI, a third party Interpreter for Sierra's early SCI games.

Solution 4 (DOS/Win9x):
Install DOS drivers for your soundcard. Without DOS drivers installed you won't have sound in a DOS window in Windows 9x. If you can't find DOS drivers for your soundcard, there is an alpha (developmental) version of VDMS that you can try.

Problem - Unable to initialize your audio hardware:
On starting the game you get the message:

Unable to initialize your audio hardware

Solution 1 (preferred):
Play the game in DOSBox. By playing your game in DOSBox, you can avoid this and other timer problems. Even the Windows version can be played in DOSBox if you install Windows 3x in it, first.

Back when computers came with a "Turbo" switch (a sort of speed switch,) Sierra's workaround was to turn off the Turbo switch to start the game, after which you could turn the Turbo back on. If you have your cycles in DOSBox set too high, you may still encounter this problem. You can mimic the turbo switch solution by lowering your cycles (Ctl+F11) before starting your game. You may raise the cycles back up after the game starts (Ctl+F12).

Solution 2:
Patch the old audio driver with GOSiERRA or SBSIERRA.

Solution 3:
Use an updated driver,AUDBLAST.DRV (sb16drv.exe).

Solution 4:
Try installing the Windows version

Speed problems

As with many of the Sierra VGA games, Space Quest IV has speed bugs. These bugs can also be avoided by playing the game in DOSBox. If you can't or don't want to use DOSBox, you can try using a Slowdown Utility.

Problem - SQ12 Cyborg:
You keep getting killed by the cyborg in the SQ12 era. You also keep getting shot by the Sequel Police before getting into their ship on Xenon and at the Skate-O-Rama.

Solution #1 (preferred):
Apply this patch by NewRisingSun. (You will still want to play the game in DOSBox.)

Solution #2:
Play using DOSBox.

Solution #3:
Use a Slowdown Utility.

Solution #4:
Download SQ4 saved games. The saved games were made after the game's trouble spots. Keep in mind that they are only for the CD version of SQ4. You must have an extraction utility like WinZIP in order to retrieve the files from the ZIP file.

Problem - Skate-O-Rama:
You keep getting shot by the Sequel Police before getting into their ship on Xenon and at the Skate-O-Rama.

Solution #1 (preferred):
Apply this patch by NewRisingSun. (You will still need to play the game in DOSBox.) NOTE: The sequence is still very hard to finish (that's how it's designed, so expect to get shot several times), but no longer impossible.

Solution #2:
Play using DOSBox.

Solution #3:
Use a Slowdown Utility.

Solution #4:
Download SQ4 saved games. the saved games were made after the game's trouble spots. Keep in mind that they are only for the CD version of SQ4. You must have an extraction utility like WinZIPin order to retrieve the files from the ZIP file.

Problem - Boarding the Transport Shuttle Bug:
The Sequel Police are already standing by the transport shuttle, waiting to kill you, so you can't board it.

Solution #1 (preferred):
Apply this patch by NewRisingSun. (You may still want to play the game in DOSBox.)

Solution #2:
Play using DOSBox.

Solution #3:
Use a Slowdown Utility.

Solution #4:
Download SQ4 saved games. The saved games were made after the game's trouble spots. Keep in mind that they are only for the CD version of SQ4. You must have an extraction utility like WinZIP in order to retrieve the files from the ZIP file.

Problem - Entering Timepod Bug:
When you enter one of the time pods on the Sequel Police dispatch, you don't have enough time. They kill you immediately after talking.

Solution #1 (preferred):
Apply this patch by NewRisingSun. (You may still want to play the game in DOSBox.)

Solution #2:
Play using DOSBox.

Solution #3:
Use a Slowdown Utility.

Solution #4:
Download SQ4 saved games. The saved games were made after the game's trouble spots. Keep in mind that they are only for the CD version of SQ4. You must have an extraction utility like WinZIP in order to retrieve the files from the ZIP file.

Problem - Sequel Policemen's Timepod Bug:
The Sequel Police timepod comes to soon after you've landed on Estros, giving you no time for the Pterodactyl to come.

Solution #1(preferred):
Apply this patch by NewRisingSun. (You may still want to play the game in DOSBox.)

Solution #2:
Play using DOSBox.

Solution #3:
Use a Slowdown Utility.

Solution #4:
Download SQ4 saved games . The saved games were made after the game's trouble spots. Keep in mind that they are only for the CD version of SQ4. You must have an extraction utility like WinZIPin order to retrieve the files from the ZIP file.

Game Specific Bugs

There are a couple of bugs the game has that are not speed dependent.

Problem - Sequel Police Error:
If you try to throw something at the sequel police, the game won't crash but will display a box in the center of the screen, sometimes with nonsense in it.

Solution #1:
This fix will correct the Text.001 message when throwing something at the sequel police at the mall.

Solution #2:
Just click or Enter and it will go away.

Problem - Zombie Scream Lockup:
The game locks-up when the "zombie" screams.

Solution:
This new sound file will prevent a lock up problem when the "zombie" screams if you have a Turtle Beach Multisound card or another sound card that doesn't support variable sound sample rates through Windows.

 

by helping to defray some of the costs of hosting this site. If it has been of help to you, please consider contributing to help keep it online.
Thank you.
pixe
Top

Home | Sierra Game Help | Walkthroughs | Hints, Tips & Spoilers | Utilities | Links | Forums | Search

© 2006 to present The Sierra Help Pages. All rights reserved. All Sierra games, artwork and music © Sierra.