ef Windows XP and Sierra games
Windows XP and Sierra Adventure Games
(Info Gathered from Posts to Sierra boards)

I just tested all of my Sierra games on my computer under XP and they all work just fine. You just have to have a program for NT Operating systems that emulates a Sound Blaster for DOS programs.

You can get it at:  http://ntvdm.cjb.net/

Just be sure to read the readme after you've installed it to know how to activate the emulation.

Also, check out their compatibility list for tips.

Install the program by double clicking on the .msi file.  If this is being installed under NT4.0 you won't have Microsoft Installer installed and can get it from the download section of the above site.

Once installed, go into the programfiles\vdmsound folder and read the readme for directions on using it


Using VDMSound:

Integration with Windows Explorer:

This is the quickest, safest and most convenient way of running your games with sound.

Right-click on the DOS game executable that you wish to start (any .exe, .com or .bat), and select the « Run with VDMS » action. A DOS window entitled "VDMSound 2.0.4 - DOS Prompt" will pop up; VDMS will automatically take care of emulation, environment and memory settings for the game.

Running VDMSound manually:

This method gives you the most control over what is happening inside your DOS box.  You are able, at any moment, to manually invoke VDMSound inside a DOS window by typing "dosdrv" at your command prompt (you can do this from any directory on your system). The emulation is active from the moment dosdrv returns control to you until the DOS box closes.


Basically almost all of the DOS Sierra games worked fine once they had VDMSound and the latest sound drivers from Sierra. You can get them from the links at the bottom of this page.

Sierra Timer bugs have now been fixed! Unkown Hero has mirrored the fan made patch and you can find those files in his links at the bottom of this page.. here They also fix other bugs not related to speed issues.

Oh, one last thing. For some reason I had to add a minhunk=100k line to my resource.cfg file for some of the Space Quest games when I didn't for Quest for Glory.


Some quick warnings for the installers though:

This applys to the installers for all Sierra games and probably some others.

DOS:

XP seems to have problems when you just double click on some .bat files. So open up a command prompt and run it from there.
 

  • Click Start
  • Click run
  • Type "Command"
  • Press enter
  • You'll see a prompt like C:\docume~1\yourna~1\>
  • Type: "D:"  (Replace D with whatever letter is assigned to your CD/DVD ROM Drive
  • Press Enter
  • Type "Install" (It may be different {Setup.bat, go.bat, nameofgame.bat} depending on the game)
  • Press Enter

    • Windows:

    DO NOT let the setup check your system! This can cause the isntaller to crash. (note since this is XP, only the installer itself crashes, but it won't let you start another instance of the Sierra installer until you restart.)

    Use Compatability options:

    Right click on a shortcut
    Click on the compatability tab


    Run this program in Compatability mode for:  This tells XP what version of windows the program expects to be installing on.  This helps in  quite a few cases including some installers and Lucas Arts games.  It mainly just tells XP to "lie" to bypass any OS version checks, but it does a few other things as well.

    Run in 256 Colors:  Windows XP's new interface looks horrible at anything below high color (16-bit).  Because of this, XP will not give you the option of picking 256 colors in the display settings dialog. So if a games requires and 8-bit palette for effects (most win3.1 games) you will have to check this box.  This will make XP go down to 256 colors and then go back to the normal setting once the game is exited.

    Run in 640x480 Screen Resolution:  Tells XP to switch to 640x480 resolution while the game is running.  Most games made for WIn95 will automaticly change the resolution and don't need this box checked, but Win 3.1 and early Win95 games aren't programmed to do this on their own. By default, these games will show up in a small window on your desktop. If You want to play the game full screen, select this option. Unlike the color box, the games will still run if you don't check this, it just looks better to many people at it's native res.

    Disable Visual Themes: Turns off the XP "look" while the program is running.  I haven't seen any programs that need this box checked.

    For the Windows Installer that came with Gabriel Knight I had to check the 256 color box and set it for Windows 98. No other installer forced me to do this though.

    You will have to use the 256 color option for all early sierra windows games (QfG IV, SQ VI, GK I, GK II...) using 640x480 depends on the game, but all of those games use the pallete for special effects that won't work if you run at high or true color.


    All three Gabriel Knight games work fine here (Windows versions that is. GK I DOS just gives a blank screen.) The only problem was that GK III had to be ran in software mode or there was some serious clipping, but I have an ATI Radeon and this is a known issue that happens under any version of windows.

    All of the Quest for Glory games run fine under XP. QfG I, II, and III need VDMSound. Dragon Fire will run fine with the Win98 compatability option checked.

    All of the Space Quest games run fine. The early ones don't use sound cards so there is no point in even trying VDMSound [Just be ready to press F2 as soon as you start the game to shut it up if you don't want PC Speaker "music"] SQ VI DOS has sound problems for me so you might have to use the windows version.


    Just a few more things that should be pointed out:

    Remember to go to the compatability list on the VDMSound website as it gives tips on getting some games to work.  For example, it still needs the latest sound drivers from Sierra.

    Right clicking on a link in XP's startmenu will not bring up the VDMSound option.  You have to browse to the folder the game is in and actually right click on the .bat or .exe that starts it.

    Links from Unknown Hero:
    Updated Sierra INSTALL and configuration program. (Download this first)
    Experimental Timer Fix Display Drivers and Patch for Sierra Games (DOS)
    Pre-Patched SIERRA.EXE file for QFG4
    Experimental Timer Fix Patch for Sierra Games (Windows)
    Updated SB16 sound drivers (audio sfx) for Sierra Games.
    Additional SB16 Drivers for use with the above updated Install program
    GoSierra v2 (Unofficial Sierra SoundBlaster patch)

    Updated Shortcut Arrow Icons for WinXP. (Semi-transparent, and actually work on large icons)
    Enable Application Compatibility for Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 (or higher)
    CuteMouse (small DOS mouse TSR driver)
    VDMSound DOS Sound Emulator for WinNT/Win2k/WinXP
    How to Increase Conventional Memory for MS-DOS-Based Programs (Microsoft KnowledgeBase)

    SCI Studio (Fan-Made SCI Editor)
    FreeSCI (Fan-Made SCI Interpreter)
    ScummVM (Fan-Made LucasArts Interpreter)
    NAGI by Nick Sonneveld (Fan-made Windows AGI Interpreter)
    Sarien (another fan-made AGI interpreter)
    AGDInteractive (Unofficial Sierra Remakes – formerly Tierra)
    Hero6 (fan-made game, inspired by QFG)
    The Unknown Hero (another QFG-imspired fan-made game)
    Site with a link to the QFG Importer

    My Links:

    Hero's Quest Patches. Patches for all five games including the Win2k/XP patch for Dragon Fire.
    Oldskool PC: Guide to get old games to run on new computers.
    Mr. Bill's List: Go here for places to buy old games all over the world.
    CDAccess: Go here to by old games.
    Hero's Quest for Gloy (Look under hints for each game for almost all the help you will need.)
    Universal Hint System: Go here for hints on almost every game.
    Quest Studios: Go here for Sierra Music and tips for getting sound working in old games.

    New Links

    GameFAQs
    Patch Scrolls Patches for many older games.
    UnderDog's Guide to running Win3.1 to Win98 games to run under XP
    UnderDog's Guide to running DOS games under XP
    SCUMMVM: Runs Lucas Arts adventure games on many mnay operating systems
    VOGONS: Site and message board full of people willing to help you get that old game up and running
    AGDInteractive(Formerly Tierra): Group of fans that do Sierra remakes They've remade Kings Quest I and II with KQ VI level graphis and voices. they even expanded KQII into a nice long game. Right now they are working on a VGA remake of one of my favorite games: Quest for Glory II: Trial By Fire

    This Website quickly thrown up by Jessie Cook. I am not affiliated with Sierra in any way. I just like their games. Space Quest, Quest for Glory, Kings Quest and Gabriel Knight are all owned by Sierra. Windows 3.1, 95, 98, and XP all belong to Microsoft. The information presented on this page was gathered from my own experience with Sierra games and WinXP, and although it should, I make no promises that this will work for you.