Playing the Enhanced Windows CD Release of King's Quest VI

The Enhanced Windows CD version of KQ6 is included in the KQ Collection but isn't used. This quick 'n easy setup guide will show you how to set up the game to play it via ScummVM.

Playing the Game With ScummVM

The Enhanced Windows CD version of King's Quest VI boasts higher resolution UI graphics and large, hand-painted dialogue portraits. Being that the original Windows executable does not work on modern PCs, and also does not work in DOSBox, there is no way to play it via the normal launcher by default. However, it can easily be run via ScummVM.

1. Downloading ScummVM
ScummVM is an interpreter that can run many old Sierra and LucasArts adventure games.

Download ScummVM[www.scummvm.org]

Choose either the Windows Installer or ZIP file, or a version for whatever system you are running. This guide will cover setup for the Windows versions, but most other versions will likely be similar.

2. Configuring the Game

Open ScummVM and select "Add Game..." Navigate to the install folder for KQ6, which by default should be C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\King's Quest Collection\kq6 and then select "Choose." You will have two options, the CD/DOS/English and CD/Windows/English versions. Select the CD/Windows/English version.

Next, select the "Engine" tab. Here you can customize how the game will look and act, but to ensure the game plays identical to the original executable, make sure Enable high resolution graphics, Prefer digital sound effects, Use original save/load screens, and Use Windows cursors are all checked.



You can also edit the window size to your liking the "Graphics" tab or set your volume and audio options up in advance in the "Audio" tab. When you're done hit "OK".

Now simply select King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow (CD/Windows/English) and hit "Start" to play the game!

Playing via the KQ Collection Steam Launcher

This section is only for those who want to be fancy and need to make sure their Steam playtime counters are as accurate as possible. You will still need to follow the instructions above first to configure the game for ScummVM.

We can add the Windows version to the launcher by editing SierraLauncher.ini in the C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\King's Quest Collection\2016_KingsQuestCollection folder. To be safe, it's best to make a copy of this file before editing it.

First we need to put a ScummVM exe somewhere we can point the INI file to. Create a folder in 2016_KingsQuestCollection\kq6 called scummVM. To be safe, you can put a full download of ScummVM in this folder, but as far as I'm aware you only need scummvm.exe, SDL.dll and WinSparkle.dll for it to work.

Now it's time to edit the SierraLauncher.ini file. Open it up in a simple text editor like Notepad. If the line breaks aren't displaying properly, open it in Notepad++[notepad-plus-plus.org] instead.

Scroll down and you should find this:

Game6Name=King's Quest 6
Game6Prog=other
Game6Path=kq6\dosbox
Game6Exe=dosbox.exe
Game6Cmd= -conf "dosboxKQ6.conf" -conf "dosboxKQ6_single.conf" -noconsole -c exit

You're going to want to replace that block with this:

Game6Name=King's Quest 6
Game6Prog=other
Game6Path=kq6\scummVM
Game6Exe=scummvm.exe
Game6Cmd= kq6-cd-win

This will make the "King's Quest 6" entry in the launcher play the Windows version instead of the DOS version.

Compatibility with the Steam Overlay

One last thing, ScummVM's default renderer isn't compatible with the Steam Overlay. There's a simple way to fix this.

Open ScummVM on it's own (not via the launcher) and either select Options or select the Windows version of KQ6 and select Edit Game...

Under the Graphics tab, for the Graphics mode option select OpenGL. The OpenGL renderer always defaults to the game's native resolution when it begins, but you can edit the resolution with a couple of useful key shortcuts.

CTRL + ALT + +/- Adjusts the game resolution. If the + key does not work, try using the one on the numpad. Make sure Num Lock is turned off!

CTRL + ALT + F Disables/enables bilinear filtering.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=787912360

And there you have it, the Windows version of KQ6 fully working complete with the Steam Overlay. Happy questing!

DOS/Windows Comparison Screenshots

Here is a small selection of screenshots highlighting the graphical differences between the DOS and Windows versions of the games, for those who are curious.

DOS

Windows

DOS

Windows

DOS

Windows

[Johnny Utah]

thank you so much for this. it worked perfectly.

[charmsfly]

Thanks for taking the time to write this! Super helpful. Enhanced Windows version is near and dear to my heart.

[jbalaj]

Thank you for this.

[tfgleonel]

Thank you very much for this!

[Johns723]

The Windows Enhanced allows for Text and Speech simultaneously. The DOS only allows you to toggle between text or speech.

[Alopen]

This is awesome. Thank you so much.

[Elgaladwen]

Oh man, you rock. I had no idea the collection even included the Windows version of the game. I've been missing it for years, since that's the one I played as a kid. Thanks for the guide!

[bahamutprincess]

Ah, no, I do not. That's so weird... I wasn't aware that I needed to do that (I thought the only voice in the game was the narrator), but I'll be sure to do that my next playthrough. :)

[Makise Kurisu]

@bahamutprincess Do you have the voice acting turned on? The game only uses the high-res portraits when voices are enabled.

[bahamutprincess]

Hmm, so I went through and downloaded Scumm, added KQ6 to it.. and while the icons and graphic resolution is higher, the portraits are still the DOS version... What can I do to make them the Windows' version? I did everything like this guide said to do, but...