[Scummvm-tracker] [ScummVM :: Bugs] #15155: SCI: Unknown "hoyle" game or demo that I think uses SCI

[ScummVM :: Bugs]

#15155: SCI: Unknown "hoyle" game or demo that I think uses SCI
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Reporter:  eriktorbjorn  |       Owner:  sluicebox
    Type:  defect        |      Status:  new
Priority:  normal        |   Component:  Engine: SCI
 Version:                |  Resolution:
Keywords:                |        Game:
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Comment (by sluicebox):

 Yup, that's the exact analysis that led me to say this is too weird for
 ScummvM a few weeks ago =)

 Or rather, that it would take a lot of work that I don't think will get
 done, for a result that makes fun screenshots but isn't something anyone
 would want to play. Maybe I'm too pessimistic; I'm listening!

 What do you even call this game? (I don't know, so I haven't added it to
 my sci-scripts repo yet!)

 What game ID would you give this? It's SCI32, so I say it's a Hoyle5
 variant, because Hoyle5 is a SCI32 port of Hoyle4 with new graphics. This
 one has unused SCI32 versions of Hoyle4 graphics and menu resources
 floating around in it, plus some SCI16=>SCI32 script mistakes that make it
 appear that it was created while they were in the process of porting to
 Hoyle5.

 How do you make the menus work, given that so many resources are missing?
 I hacked this thing into loading a card game in ScummVM a few weeks ago
 and I wasn't optimistic. Disable a bunch of menus like we do for the
 Hoyle5 floppy variants? This is going to be a very different experience
 from how this software actually ran.

 What about all the script patches and workaround signatures? We already
 have Hoyle4 and Hoyle5 versions for many of them, because the Hoyle4 bugs
 continued on into Hoyle5 where they were compiled with SCI32 bytecode. If
 we have to rewrite any of those for this then... shudder. I couldn't make
 it through the one card game I tried without tripping an `error` for
 something I knew we'd fixed.

 At least in the card game I tried, they ripped out all the in-game
 controls, and you can't restart, or return to the menus, so you're just
 stuck until the slow game ends. No options, you can't even increase the
 speed, just have to wait for the game to be over.

 I know that all sounds pessimistic, which is why I've been avoiding
 writing anything about this because I hate pouring cold water on fun
 things. I hope I've demonstrated *some* of the work that would be
 necessary to make this weird thing run. Who will do it? I think it's
 likely that the best case result is that it will look broken and no one
 would want to play. That sounds like a recipe for a ticket that will never
 get closed, hence why I proposed it's a `wontfix` now instead of years
 from now when I randomly lose patience after no activity. =)

 It's a cool Weird SCI find though! I reserve the right to lose my mind and
 just make it work one day, despite everything I said. But I have more fun
 things to do, so someone give me hope that this isn't such a big deal.
 (Guys we don't even have Hoyle5 POKER working yet!)

 Now get my name off this ticket!
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Ticket URL: <https://bugs.scummvm.org/ticket/15155#comment:7>
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