Steam vs. GOG version

[Tonywar93]

Is there any difference between the Steam version and the GOG one? Which one do you think it's best to have?
Thanks.

[monkeymadness]

They are pretty similar as far as I know. The one on GOG doesn't require an internet connection and it works for windows, mac, and linux. Steam tends to be cheaper with its lucasarts bundle and runs on windows and mac.

[bliss]

@stevenloveland
Don't forget Steam has offline mode!

[FullMetal]

i have steam version, but if I could I would just get it on GoG, I bought sam & max, xwing, tie fighter and kotor there( i have a steam copy of kotor) the gog games are optimized to run on modern systems. gog hands down.

http://www.twitch.tv/0athbr3ak3r free giveaways on my channel

[Liquidsnakehpks-joa]

The steam version is better , its the official release by lucasarts themselves . The game runs on its own without any 3rd party emulator stuff needed.Steam uses The official fixed version provided by lucasarts themselves.
The gog version is just the game files + scummvm emulator.
The game runs fine on steam have had no issues music quality takes a hit because it uses the windows midi .

[Kamil950PL]

@Liquidsnakehpks-joa - what is wrong with ScummVM?

[bliss]

I found an existing discussion @ LucasArts forum. It mentions the music is much better in ScummVM. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:OaAJ8TsFgL4J:www.lucasforums.com/showthread.php%3Ft%3D199121

Another point I'd add is with ScummVM you can run the game on just about any platform.

[monkeymadness]

I agree with the others. I prefer the ScummVM version I play from my old CD copy of the game. I like the way it sounds better than the Steam version. I've never tried GOG so I don't know if it is more like the ScummVM one. Funny thing is now you can run the Steam version on ScummVM. It might be a tie between GOG and Steam. As for me, I prefer a CD copy of the game.

[Kamil950PL]

I found also this about 'Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis':

'Game compatibility details' with ScummVM - http://scummvm.org/compatibility/DEV/atlantis/

and this:

'Steam vs. GOG version' - http://www.gog.com/forum/indiana_jones_and_the_fate_of_atlantis/steam_vs_gog_version

[Kamil950PL]

I found 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade intro (Steam vanilla vs. ScummVM MT-32 audio)' video comparison on that GoG forum (I know that it is not '(...)Fate of Atlantis' but it rather sounds similar) and Steam vanilla version sounds really awful - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaslP60o3do

ScummVM MT-32 audio version has a lot of better music (and probably sound). So GoG version is probably better than Steam vanilla.

But I found also this:

'Something wrong with the music on a mac?' (and not only on the mac) -
http://steamcommunity.com/app/6010/discussions/0/41973820717794495/

'Way to switch to the original soundtrack?'
http://steamcommunity.com/app/6010/discussions/0/846963711059804171/

xlynx:
'My guess is the Steam version uses your cheap MIDI device, whereas ScummVM can emulate the Roland MT-32.

It may be possible to get the Steam version working under ScummVM, but from my quick web search it appears quite involved.

Method 1. http://koti.kapsi.fi/~jvaltane/SteamLucasToScummVM/indy4.txt
Method 2. http://scummvm.bencastricum.nl/ '

Mr. Beaker:
'Awesome, you're the best. I couldn't quite understand how to use the 1st method, but I downloaded the Steam compatible version of ScummVM and it works prefectly!

Thanks a bunch!'


You can find here - http://scummvm.bencastricum.nl/ :

'Support for Steam LucasArts Adventures

The Online Game Platform Steam has re-released a couple of the old LucasArts adventures. However the index file required for playing the games with ScummVM has been integrated in the executable file, making it impossible to play it with ScummVM. This patch add support for these game by adding Steam as a platform, and using the index file inside the executable file. This should make Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Loom and The Dig work with ScummVM. Choose the directory that contains the executable called "testapp.exe" (the file containing the index file). The official ScummVM has added support for these Steam games since v1.7.0 so you no longer need a patch.'

TL;DR - QUESTION etc.:

So I'm not sure but you can play in Steam versions with ScummVM. So I don't know what is better: GoG version (with integrated ScummVM) or Steam version with ScummVM (added manually by user/player becuase 'The official ScummVM has added support for these Steam games since v1.7.0 so you no longer need a patch(...)').

[bliss]

My comments there were a while ago. Stevenloveland seems to be suggesting the Steam version now runs in the official ScummVM. Can you confirm Steven?

[monkeymadness]

引用自 xlynx：

My comments there were a while ago. Stevenloveland seems to be suggesting the Steam version now runs in the official ScummVM. Can you confirm Steven?

I can confirm this, because I have tried it on my computer. :)
But here is a link to the release notes for ScummVM 1.7
http://sourceforge.net/projects/scummvm/files/scummvm/1.7.0/ReleaseNotes/view

Under Scumm
"Added support for the Steam versions of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Loom and The Dig. Both the Windows and the Macintosh versions are supported."

So just for those four games currently. You can't play other Steam version of games, even if ScummVM supports those games. Example Broken Sword can be played on ScummVM, but if you tried to play the Steam version on ScummVM it doesn't work.

PS [PL] kamil950 mentioned this, but his response was lengthy. So while older versions of ScummVM required a patch, 1.7 no longer does.

[Kamil950PL]

So Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Loom and The Dig with added manually ScummVM is the same experience (graphics, sound, music) like GoG versions (if available) with integrated ScummVM?

What is better (for example in sound, music, graphics etc.) for these games from Steam or GoG - ScummVM or DOSBOX (or DOSBox Game Launcher)? [Sorry for my English.]

[monkeymadness]

Sorry to post again. I have been looking more into the sound of the game. I found that the music for both versions of FOA can be changed to "Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth [Windows MIDI]. Here is what it sounds like (Just the first part):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbXT7Vv6A8Q

[Kamil950PL]

[If TL;DR - READ MY 'Summing up' BELOW.]

From: http://www.gog.com/forum/indiana_jones_and_the_fate_of_atlantis/steam_vs_gog_version

philscomputerlab:
'The original DOS game had really good FM music but also support for Roland. Using MUNT Roland emulator and DOSBox or ScummVM would be ideal.

It's a shame that they didn't include the original DOS version because it would work with DOSBox or ScummVM.

I don't understand the need to compress the audio file.'

ylitvinenko:
'(...)
Given that, and the fact that GOG version runs via ScummVM, where you can adjust various settings (and do not forget the lack of DRM protection!), I would say GOG version is superior, despite the compressed MONSTER.SOU file.'

Pyoko:
'The interpreter in the Steam version has fewer customization options than ScummVM, but by far the biggest issue is that it uses Windows MIDI for the music which is just all kinds of horrible compared to AdLib, and essentially makes it unplayable in my opinion. I just can't stand that sound.

(...)

They're not altered, they're identical to the original ones. The issue with the Steam release is that they've baked in the 12KB ATLANTIS.000 file into the executable which means you won't be able to load it up in ScummVM unless you use a hex-editor and extract the relevant bytes into a separate file.

So yeah, out of the box the GOG release is definitely better thanks to ScummVM. Technically however the Steam version is superior because it still has all the original uncompressed data, but you have to do some digging to get it.'


Me (here):

Summing up:

Now you can also use Steam version with ScummVM (or DOSBox) - so now it is not a problem (thanks to ScummVM's update) like before.


So Windows MIDI for sound and music from vanilla Steam version (awful PC Speaker - native Steam - version) is horrible.

Comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaslP60o3do


GoG version with integrated ScummVM has better sound and music becuase can emulate the Roland MT-32 (instead of horrible Windows MIDI) but has compressed MONSTER.SOU - audio file.

I'm not sure but when you use Steam version ('it still has all the original uncompressed data') with ScummVM (which can emulate the Roland MT-32) you get probably better version than GoG because Steam has NOT compressed MONSTER.SOU - audio file.

Now I'm not sure what you should use with Steam version - ScummVM or DOSBox maybe.

[lava.drop]

Sorry but there are many inaccuracies in your posts concerning music.
1.- The video shows Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. That game had several versions for several systems but it never included any kind of MIDI music, only FM synthesis through Adlib or CD audio on the FMTowns version. The Youtube video compares running ScummVM with PC Speaker emulation vs ScummVM with Adlib emulation.
2.- Indiana Jones & the Fate of Atlantis had several versions too and it indeed includes General MIDI support along with MT-32 on the floppy version and spoken dialog on the CD version.
3.- ScummVM will only output MT-32 music if you either have copied/dumped the ROMS from an actual MT-32 device and put it in the Extras folder OR if you hookup an actual MT-32 device through midi-USB cables.
4.- ScummVM has been updated to recognize the Steam versions.