Is this the CD Talkie Verison or Original?

SirHandsome · 07-08-2009, 10:36 PM

Was wondering if this is the CD Talkie rerelease, or the original version of Loom? I'm wondering because I already own the original, but if this is the CD talkie version, I'm definitely double dipping

I didn't see any mention of voice acting in the description, but thought I'd ask anyway. Thanks!

Cedge · 07-08-2009, 11:11 PM

It's the CD-ROM version.

ahninjas · 07-09-2009, 06:43 AM

In the fine print at the bottom, it mentions the game uses 250 megabytes of disk space. That's definitely the voice acting.

SirHandsome · 07-09-2009, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ahninjas

In the fine print at the bottom, it mentions the game uses 250 megabytes of disk space. That's definitely the voice acting.

True, good point. Thanks for the replies. Yay!

HeXcoda · 07-09-2009, 09:22 PM

Isn't the talkie incredibly watered down, though? Shortened dialogue, no alternative puzzle solutions, and no background music? I barely remember Loom from the 90s, but I hope I'm playing the "definitive version", here...

relaxeder · 07-09-2009, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeXcoda

Isn't the talkie incredibly watered down, though? Shortened dialogue, no alternative puzzle solutions, and no background music? I barely remember Loom from the 90s, but I hope I'm playing the "definitive version", here...

Yeah, its up for debate which version was the better one. Depends on whether you value extra polish over more gameplay and story. The original 16bit Amiga release was able to afford more dialogue and things because it was silent, whereas the VGA CD-ROM release had to be trimmed in places to fit the dialogue audio onto the disc.

I think there's a way to patch the CD/Steam version to include the background music from the FM Towns version, but I'm not positive about that.

Varsity · 07-10-2009, 02:39 AM

You can get the FM-TOWNS release here, if you own the game on Steam.

relaxeder · 07-10-2009, 09:03 AM

I wonder if its possible to add the recorded dialogue to the FM-TOWNS version? That would be the best.

Varsity · 07-10-2009, 11:40 AM

Probably, but it would need to be done manually. And you'd be back with the clipped story, which is the number one reason for not playing the talkie version!

Blarg Blargson · 07-10-2009, 01:59 PM

Is the FM-TOWNS version much longer than the CD version? I just finished the game, and I thought it was really good, or it would have been if it weren't so brief. Then again, I had the same thoughts about Grim Fandango.

Proph3tik · 07-10-2009, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Varsity

You can get the FM-TOWNS release here, if you own the game on Steam.

This is awesome. Thank you for the link.

Having never played it before and then reading up on the past versions today, I realized FM-TOWNS seems to be the most "complete" and found myself wishing that was what I had bought!

Vegan · 07-10-2009, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by relaxeder

I wonder if its possible to add the recorded dialogue to the FM-TOWNS version? That would be the best.

It would be awkward at best, since the lines are actually different. And, of course, some lines wouldn't have any voice at all.

Blarg Blargson · 07-11-2009, 04:08 PM

I just finished the FM TOWNS version, and thought I'd offer my two cents.

The gameplay of the both versions is identical. The manual apparently is lying about the "multiple solutions" thing; you face the exact same puzzles, and must use the exact same drafts in the exact same way to complete the game.

There is slightly more writing and dialogue in the FM TOWNS version, and there are more animated sequences. I'd say that the normal Steam version has about 15% less written text, and about another 10% has been abriged or edited. That said, the "unabridged story" is completely identical to the abridged story, with only a few details done differently. You're getting the same story either way, and personally I preferred the voiced version, for reasons listed below.

Bobbin, curiously, has LESS to say in the FM TOWNS version, and seems a tad shallow as a character. For that matter, without voice acting to add tone and inflection to the characters' speeches, they ALL seem a little shallow. Say what you will about dialogue trees, they're excellent for adding depth to a person's personality through the medium of dialogue. Given that no version of LOOM has dialogue trees or a great deal of text in general, it turns out that the voice acting was REALLY important for giving the characters flavor.

The FM TOWNS version also includes a lot more music, and by that I mean you will be listening to Tchaikovsky constantly. There are also more sound effects in general, but the quality of those sound effects is noticeably worse than those of the voiced game, particularly when it comes to the distaff's notes.

There's couple faults in the ScummVM program for FM-TOWNS LOOM as well; although you can still save and load games, the other game functions don't seem to work. You can't speed up or slow down the text, sometimes you can't use the keyboard to play drafts for no apparent reason, and there's no way to turn the music off (a pity; even Tchaikovsky gets annoying after you've listened to it looping over and over for hours). There's also no way to change the difficulty; it appears to be stuck on Easy mode.

You lot can try the other version (or both versions) if you like, but my recommendation is to stick to the voiced, polished version.

Varsity · 07-12-2009, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blarg Blargson

The gameplay of the both versions is identical. The manual apparently is lying about the "multiple solutions" thing; you face the exact same puzzles, and must use the exact same drafts in the exact same way to complete the game.

Check a walkthrough for examples of alternative solutions. I found one myself without realising it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blarg Blargson

There's also no way to change the difficulty; it appears to be stuck on Easy mode.

This, on the other hand, is very problematic.

in.meinem.turm. · 07-12-2009, 05:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Varsity

You can get the FM-TOWNS release here, if you own the game on Steam.

+Rep for you. Finally A Version that works with ScummVM!

07-08-2009, 10:36 PM	#1
SirHandsome Join Date: Jun 2009 Reputation: 4 Posts: 55	Is this the CD Talkie Verison or Original? Was wondering if this is the CD Talkie rerelease, or the original version of Loom? I'm wondering because I already own the original, but if this is the CD talkie version, I'm definitely double dipping I didn't see any mention of voice acting in the description, but thought I'd ask anyway. Thanks!

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07-08-2009, 11:11 PM	#2
Cedge Join Date: May 2009 Reputation: 1127 Posts: 3,873	It's the CD-ROM version.

07-09-2009, 06:43 AM	#3
ahninjas Join Date: Dec 2007 Reputation: 0 Posts: 22	In the fine print at the bottom, it mentions the game uses 250 megabytes of disk space. That's definitely the voice acting.

07-09-2009, 09:22 PM	#5
HeXcoda Join Date: Sep 2007 Reputation: 54 Posts: 303	Isn't the talkie incredibly watered down, though? Shortened dialogue, no alternative puzzle solutions, and no background music? I barely remember Loom from the 90s, but I hope I'm playing the "definitive version", here...

07-10-2009, 02:39 AM	#7
Varsity Join Date: Jun 2004 Reputation: 489 Posts: 17,360	You can get the FM-TOWNS release here, if you own the game on Steam.

07-10-2009, 09:03 AM	#8
relaxeder Join Date: Apr 2009 Reputation: 1630 Posts: 2,784	I wonder if its possible to add the recorded dialogue to the FM-TOWNS version? That would be the best.

07-10-2009, 11:40 AM	#9
Varsity Join Date: Jun 2004 Reputation: 489 Posts: 17,360	Probably, but it would need to be done manually. And you'd be back with the clipped story, which is the number one reason for not playing the talkie version!

07-10-2009, 01:59 PM	#10
Blarg Blargson Join Date: Jan 2009 Reputation: 24 Posts: 166	Is the FM-TOWNS version much longer than the CD version? I just finished the game, and I thought it was really good, or it would have been if it weren't so brief. Then again, I had the same thoughts about Grim Fandango.

07-11-2009, 04:08 PM	#13
Blarg Blargson Join Date: Jan 2009 Reputation: 24 Posts: 166	I just finished the FM TOWNS version, and thought I'd offer my two cents. The gameplay of the both versions is identical. The manual apparently is lying about the "multiple solutions" thing; you face the exact same puzzles, and must use the exact same drafts in the exact same way to complete the game. There is slightly more writing and dialogue in the FM TOWNS version, and there are more animated sequences. I'd say that the normal Steam version has about 15% less written text, and about another 10% has been abriged or edited. That said, the "unabridged story" is completely identical to the abridged story, with only a few details done differently. You're getting the same story either way, and personally I preferred the voiced version, for reasons listed below. Bobbin, curiously, has LESS to say in the FM TOWNS version, and seems a tad shallow as a character. For that matter, without voice acting to add tone and inflection to the characters' speeches, they ALL seem a little shallow. Say what you will about dialogue trees, they're excellent for adding depth to a person's personality through the medium of dialogue. Given that no version of LOOM has dialogue trees or a great deal of text in general, it turns out that the voice acting was REALLY important for giving the characters flavor. The FM TOWNS version also includes a lot more music, and by that I mean you will be listening to Tchaikovsky constantly. There are also more sound effects in general, but the quality of those sound effects is noticeably worse than those of the voiced game, particularly when it comes to the distaff's notes. There's couple faults in the ScummVM program for FM-TOWNS LOOM as well; although you can still save and load games, the other game functions don't seem to work. You can't speed up or slow down the text, sometimes you can't use the keyboard to play drafts for no apparent reason, and there's no way to turn the music off (a pity; even Tchaikovsky gets annoying after you've listened to it looping over and over for hours). There's also no way to change the difficulty; it appears to be stuck on Easy mode. You lot can try the other version (or both versions) if you like, but my recommendation is to stick to the voiced, polished version.