Today a fanmade VGA remake made by LUCASFAN was released
you can dawnload it at the AGS website:www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk)

Originally posted by skullkid22
Today a fanmade VGA remake made by LUCASFAN was released
you can dawnload it at the AGS website:www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk) Too bad it crashed 30 seconds after I started playing.

*is downloading as he types*

This could be bordering on the sacreligious...

Crashes for me too, as soon as the first cutscene starts...

Works fine for me, no crashes at all. Except, the paint remover doesn't make the paint blotch disappear, rendering it impossible to get upstairs and fix the wiring.

I got me a 30 second crash as well. Kinda annoying.

Originally posted by Undead_Ted
Works fine for me, no crashes at all. Except, the paint remover doesn't make the paint blotch disappear, rendering it impossible to get upstairs and fix the wiring.

The puzzle is different in MM Deluxe. You must open the paint remover first, use the paint brush on the can, and then the brush on the blotch.

Kind of a clever way to get around being able to lose the remover as you could in the original. And now the brush serves a purpose!

Well, the second time around it didn't crash at the first cutscene, but after the cutscene with Ed going "I am hungry" I went outside with Dave (cause he was in the kitchen) and made Bernard ring the doorbell... that got me a crash again, with an error saying something like "Actor X not in Room Y", probably because the program wanted to play the cutscene with Ed hearing the doorbell in his room (assuming it being his package being delivered), but Ed was already on his way to the kitchen... strange thing...

Other than that, I very nice remake, although I don't think the cartoony interface fits the game's style.

Well it's of course an homage to DOTT (ironic, the first game paying homage to the second) and it is a lot better than the original interface (the very early stage of scumm) where a combination of verbs were needed.

I'm gonna try again and see what I can do.

There's a 'speech pack' option in the config menu. Anyone have any ideas about what file that's referring to?

That's just a standard checkbox in the configuration dialog of all AGS-games... that's why it says "if available". AGS allows you to create those speech-packs and provide them as a separate file (if you have a 56K-connection you'll probably just download the game-files, but if you have broadband getting a 50MB speech-pack isn't that big a deal).

Take a look at the remakes from the first two "King's Quest" games as an example... they provide the game in one file, and a music-pack and a speech-pack as separate downloads.

Anyway, there's no speech pack for the MM remake.

Thanks, I figured as much (see my comments under the news styory on MnM main page).

Well, I haven't had any problems with it. I like the way the team have brought in a few pieces of DOTT music - it really livens up the place. Oh, and the Loom Record.

I also like the right-mouse-click options б la MI2 and DOTT (Zak2 really could've done with it). Oh, and the Help Wanted sign in the window.

Any chance of a list of things that have been changed from the original to this (besides the colours, interface, and areas I've just mentioned)? Was Purple Tentacle in the original, for example?

Purple Tentacle was indeed in the original. His role hasn't been changed at all.

Some changes (besides the Loom soundtrack album and the Help Wanted sign)

-Many of the replies coming from the "Look at" command are totally new. This is because there's no "Look" command in the original, only "Read."

-Your characters can talk to each other. The dialogue varies based on which room they're in. This means that sometimes they will give you clues on how to proceed. For example, in the living room, they'll mention how fragile the glass chandelier is.

-There are fewer dead ends. You can't get rid of the Pepsi can before using it in the right place, for example.

-The paint remover puzzle has been changed. In the original, you dump paint remover on a wall. Here you open the paint remover can, dip a brush into it, and use the brush on the wall. You also can't run out of paint remover, unlike the original.

-There are fewer ways to die. For example, touching the bare wires in the attic won't kill you, and the house never blows up in the end sequence.

-When a character does die, his/her items are easily retrievable from the gravesite. In the original, his/her inventory was lost forever, screwing the player over.

-The Edisons never move outside the rooms they're in. This means that although, for example, Weird Ed is seen in his room saying "I'm hungry," and then he appears in the kitchen looking for food, he won't catch characters who are in the hallways between his bedroom and the kitchen.

-Time passes extremely quickly in this version. At one point, Dr. Fred says he'll shut off the power for "5 or 6 minutes." When it happens it's more like 15-20 seconds. (A good thing the house doesn't blow up in the end - the original has it on a timer of two minutes!)

-There's a poster in Green Tentacle's room of "Roberta in concert," referring to Sierra's Roberta Williams. The characters name one of her songs - "Killing Me Repeatedly."

Wow! Well done ATM!!

I don't like that the characters don't walk in hallways anymore. Do you think this could have been a limitation of the engine they used?

Also, I liked that "explosion" ending! Although I can't remember how it happened, I thought it was pretty funny! Shame.

The other stuff seems like really clever fixes. The clues are a great idea!

Is the song 'Killing Me Repeatedly' about early Sierra adventure games? Because that's what they did if you made a wrong move. Feel free to say 'yes it is, you moron' if it actually is, but not if it isn't.

A quick list of Maniac Mansion Deluxe Easter eggs



Press F1, F2, F3 about 5 times having one of the characters in the room with the disco sucks poster to reveal a disturbing banner. The kid that is in the room has to be assigned to the last button of the series. For example, if Razor is the third kid and is in the room, you’d go F1 F2 F3 several times. But if it is Dave (who is always the first kid), you’d have to go F3 F2 F1. I personally find the Tierra guys (and girl) really cool but this joke ties-in nicely with the whole Sierra vs. LucasArts thing.






Turn the switch (next to the door) in the secret lab to change its look to a more retro style:



Where have we seen this castle? Look at the picture of the castle.



A quick reference to the classic movie Casablanca when you look at chuck the plant.




The picture of the people on the lawn can also be seen in the basement of a certain castle - another Indy3 reference (old Easter egg):



So can the statue of the lady - Indy again (old Easter egg)

A nice little reference to LucasFan’s other gem when you look at the Zak poster. How cool is that?



Take a look at (and listen to) the old record. It actually plays Loom's intro music:

Spoiler for the original Maniac Mansion below (so beware)!!!
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If I remember correctly the mansion blew up if someone did empty the swimming pool of water.
The water was / is used to cool the reactor.
Once the cooler is gone the reactor blows up after some minutes of warning...

There is still a way to blow up the mansion in the remake, and it does involve the swimming pool.

You have to drain the pool, enter it, and press the red button. The house blows up.

I don't think it will blow up by simply draining the pool and waiting around though...

And from what I've heard, the fact that the Edisons don't walk through the hallways is indeed something to do with the limits of AGS.

Well, you can do it by turning on the water main then playing with the wires on the nuclear reactor.

As for the wandering around the hallways, from one of the posts above I thought it was deliberate.

Undead_Ted: 'yes it is, you moron' ;)

Thanks for the info ATM

The mansion blew up for me, just by draining the pool, just like in original.

Yup. Me too. That was the point in the game, right?