VOGONS


First post, by lalakobe

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Hello all!

Have you ever encountered strange bug in SQ3, error "Divide overflow" appearts in upper left corner and game hangs completely?
AFAIK 286 PC is withing recommended specs for this game.

This error appears when Sierra logo starts to appear on the screen after launch. There is a workaroung however, if on start you hold "+" long enough, game starts to play in maximum speed, logo appears much faster and error does not appear. However, if you continue to watch intro, same error still appears when cryopod is scanned for Roger lifesigns.
If you skip intro, game sequence starts ok, I walked a few screens without errors.

What could be the problem here? If changing game speed somehow helps, could it be some issues with internal clock?

Reply 2 of 11, by Jo22

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lalakobe wrote on 2022-02-18, 08:03:

What could be the problem here? If changing game speed somehow helps, could it be some issues with internal clock?

No idea. 🤷‍♂️ I had trouble with SQ3 years ago, too. There used to be a huge number of different revisions of the SCI0 interpreter.
To give an idea, have a look at my old thread over here -> Space Quest III on CT-460

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 3 of 11, by lalakobe

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Garrett W wrote on 2022-02-18, 09:18:

Hi! What are your full system specs?

CPU: Intel 80286-12
MB: Deico PC-286i (https://arvutimuuseum.ee/th99/m/C-D/30611.htm)
4 Mb RAM
Sound: Sound Blaster 2.0 CT1350B (hangs when using speaker (STD.DRV) in-game too, so not a culprit)
Video: PARADISE PEGA2A EGA

Also motherboard battery is replaced with 4*AA batteries as replacement

MS DOS 6.22
SQ3 shows 1.0P 3/22/89 in "About game"

Reply 4 of 11, by lalakobe

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Looks like there were 4 versions of game released: 1.0P, 1.0U, 1.018 and 1.052, according to http://sciwiki.sierrahelp.com/index.php?title … tes_of_Pestulon

Mine is 1.0P, from three 720KB 3.25 diskettes release, with black and white INSTALL.EXE version

Reply 5 of 11, by Jo22

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Ah yes, that's the classic textmode stuff from the 1980s.. Reminds me of Zeliard. ^^

The later versions from the 1990s had a coloured installer/setup and mentioned things like memory settings.

My personal recommendation: If you can, just try using a newer copy* of the game and keep the original diskettes for legal reasons.
The versions that came on CD are fully 286 compatible still, but no longer have copy-protection etc.

That being said, there's one compatibility issue, if you will.
The newer interpreters can't use older save states.
That's an issue if you have some of those from back then or from the internet.

(*Of course, that's not supported here, strictly speaking. Using copies of unknown origin. Your country's law may or may not support doing this, also. Not sure.)

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 6 of 11, by Plasma

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lalakobe wrote on 2022-02-18, 08:03:
Hello all! […]
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Hello all!

Have you ever encountered strange bug in SQ3, error "Divide overflow" appearts in upper left corner and game hangs completely?
AFAIK 286 PC is withing recommended specs for this game.

This error appears when Sierra logo starts to appear on the screen after launch. There is a workaroung however, if on start you hold "+" long enough, game starts to play in maximum speed, logo appears much faster and error does not appear. However, if you continue to watch intro, same error still appears when cryopod is scanned for Roger lifesigns.
If you skip intro, game sequence starts ok, I walked a few screens without errors.

What could be the problem here? If changing game speed somehow helps, could it be some issues with internal clock?

I suspect your CPU is faster than the game expects and its causing an overflow (possibly division by zero) when calculating the delay loop.

Reply 7 of 11, by Jo22

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I second that.

It's just odd that the Sierra interpreter can't handle a 12MHz 80286.
My old 80286-12 was made in 1988, so the Sierra programmer must have known about it.

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 8 of 11, by Plasma

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They may have known about it but thought the speed calculation would work universally. If they never tested on a 286/12, the bug could slip past on the first version. The second version (1.0U) was released less than a month later, maybe after customers called up and complained.

This is all speculation of course...