I think it shows a problem what people are doing nowadays. They lump together valid constructive criticism with the mindless bashing you can find everywhere. Thus, everything negative is perceived as mindless bashing. The situation for the Sam & Max games would have been different if they completely remade the entire first season with new lines and voice actors. Instead they changed specific parts of the games which is perceived as censorship. Considering the humor of the Sam & Max series I still don't understand these changes. Besides these changes, the remastered versions felt more like patches for the original games with a "nice" price upgrade.

Emperor of the Fading Suns received today a patch to the Enhanced version. It is free. And the price for the game is the same. The classic installer is included!
https://www.gog.com/game/emperor_of_the_fading_suns
https://items.gog.com/emperor_of_the_fading_suns/emperor_of_the_fading_suns_changelog.pdf

And as you can see the soundtrack is also included. This is how it should be done.

Now compare this with Skunkape Games.

Well, we felt very different then.
I liked the "feeling" of the remastered version a lot. Let's just ignore the technical aspect for a moment (screen resolution, compatibility with modern OS, fix of the directinput bug and so on).
They improved a lot of visual aspects and models (for example Sam was redesigned according to Steve Purcell's input, also the whole musical scene in the war rome was redone along with many minor changes, without changing the feeling). Also new tracks for the soundtrack were recorded.
Apart from the few changed lines the remaster was done very well. Those who bought the game before (on ANY platform, not just GOG, even the original Telltale store counted), got a 50% discount code.

You want it for free? Ask Telltale for a free upgrade. Skunkape however bought the rights, all they had was expenses until the release. Then not getting any money from those who bought it before (and let's be honest, that makes most of their customers) ... I think you can see how these numbers don't add up.
This is one of the best remasters I bought in years (the worst being XIII, I didn't buy Warcraft 3).
No, except for that line changing, Skunkape did a very good job. And if they had been straight and said that they had to change some lines to avoid trouble blah blah, people would still have been pissed, but not to that extend.

I am looking forward to Season 3, hopefully we players didn't scare them off for good.

What you described here is essentially what is going on in the gaming industry. Milking existing fans. You see remasters, remakes or "enhanced" version here and there. The targeted audience consists mainly those people who bought these games before. You are supposed to buy the new fancy version that presumably runs without problems on your current computer with the newest version of Windows (or whatever).

And the first question is always the same: Is it really necessary to do such a version?

An example for an excellent remastered version of a game is Day of the Tentacle Remastered. It respects the original version. With the updated graphics Day of the Tentacle will still look great in 20 years. It became timeless. In this case I don't mind paying for the game again.

All what Skunkape had to do was fixing existing game bugs and updating the game engine for modern systems. The entire rest wasn't necessary. Beamdog's enhanced versions for Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 are similar here. Instead of releasing a new game in the series they re-released existing games plus questionable changes and add-on between the two games. If Skunkape wanted to target existing fans then there will be on question. Why haven't they created a new adventure with Sam and Max?

[I]*tries to get the conversation back on topic*[\i]

Ahhh, Wednesday has arrived once again.

What a lovely day to hang out on Monkey Islans. *hint hint, GOG*

Hey, somewhere in my 50-lines post I briefly mentioned RtMI and also Ron Gilbert.
Devolver just isn't giving us much to talk about...


I really hope you are wrong and they can get a lot of new customers. Maybe on platforms like Switch, this worked very well for TWP (and I assume is the reason being a launch platform for RtMI).


I'm pretty sure it's more than four lines though...

Regarding movies:
You can often buy Director's Cut versions of movies. They aren't necessarily better.
They are different, may have stuff added, removed, or other changes you may like or not.

That would be a more fair comparison than for instance a heavily cut TV version of some horror slasher movie which got every scene with gore removed.

Sure, you can pass on the Sam & Max remasters, but those couple of dialogue lines really shouldn't be the reason for this decision.

And your response is what happens among players since gaming exists. You expect someone who invests money to give you something for free.

You can only milk those who are ok with it. No one is forced to buy. You don't want to buy a trip down memory lane (or 'cashgrab', as others call it)? Well, there is a simple solution: Don't.

Let those who like it, enjoy it, there is no need to badmouth it for being a remaster.

I could enjoy it even more with the original Max' lines, but I made my peace with that. It is a very good remaster, I am glad that I have it.



I hope you are right. They put a lot of effort in it and I wish them all the best.

You probably have to understand how the censorship of games in Germany works. With the current laws games can get investigated by a federal department (Bundeszentrale für Kinder- und Jugendmedienschutz (BzKJ)). They decide whether a game is put on the index for banned media. If a game gets no rating (the German equivalent to ESRB is USK) then it will be a candidate to get banned.

Game developers who know these laws and want to release their games in Germany will self-censor their games as a consequence. In the past you could see games where the red blood was replaced with green blood, the gore effects were removed, ragdoll effects were removed, etc. In the German version of Baldur's Gate they removed the gore effect with the gibs. In Jedi Knight you can't cut of the arms anymore. In the worst case they completely altered the game. Instead of humans you have androids/cyborgs fighting each other. Example: Command & Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour
https://www.schnittberichte.com/schnittbericht.php?ID=3823

These changes were all done by the devs. This is how censorship in Germany works. It is usually self-censorship. It is done because of external factors like the German laws. It is not a good thing.

I have nothing against people who enjoy these remasters. I also don't generally expect that the game companies give me something for free. I expect a certain quality. It is absolutely important for me that game developers respect the original game, don't cut things, and make questionable changes in the process to create a remastered version or remake. Probably, you can see why I have this attitude. I've seen lots of altered versions of games, see above for examples. If they cut contents from the original I won't support it. If they don't meet this then I'll criticize it. This is not badmouthing.

I also don't like the VGA version of Loom because of the cut contents (no close ups, removed dialogue lines, etc.). It was done by Software Toolworks/Mindscape. You can actually see that they haven't enjoyed creating the VGA CD version if you see one of the unused graphics:
https://tcrf.net/images/1/16/Loom-loomsucks.png
It has voice overs but I prefer the EGA version. Loom EGA was one of the first PC games I played. I don't want to play a butchered version of it.

They also did other CD versions of Lucasfilm/ LucasArts classics. The quality of these CD re-releases is overall not good. The CD re-release of Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe is a mess. If someone is trying to use this version to re-release it as a digital version then there won't be a digital version of it. You basically need to create a patch from the final floppy version of this game to fix the CD version. Software Toolworks/Mindscape are the Beamdogs, Skunkapes, Nightdives, etc. of the 90s.

Criticizing anti-consumer practices is also not badmouthing. The original release of Sam and Max Season 1 on GOG included the soundtrack. With the remastered version it became a DLC. This is anti-consumer. Simon the Sorcerer 1 and 2 got these 25th anniversary remasters. These editions came also with a price upgrade and they usually get low discounts. They are cash grabs because the changes aren't really worth it. You can use similar filters in ScummVM. They added subtitles for Simon the Sorcerer 1 though. The games themselves are still fun to play.

However, I don't support remasters like these because I don't want to see more of it. There are more and more remasters and remakes of older games. I don't think this is a good trend. Usually, I prefer a new game in a series over a remastered version of an existing game. In the case of Sam and Max I definitely want to see a new game.

The most ridiculous thing is that they pressure the companies to self-censor and so that the BzKJ can “this isn't censorship” (which they have to do, since censorship would be illegal).

That was Jedi Outcast :)
Luckily it was easy to remove that censorship.
Nowadays there is not much that gets censored anymore, except when it comes to civilians and kids.

... see, that't the problem. You call it "anti-consumer practices", while I enjoyed the remaster very much, so how can it be something that works against me as a consumer? And how was the 50% discount anti consumer?

Yes, the Simon Anniversary Edition is a disgrace, but then again ist is a port of a port, not a remaster. They didn't change anything in the game.
(no need to tell me about ScummVM, you don't want to compare lists :))

The soundtrack of Sam & Max didn't 'become' a DLC. First of all it's not the same soundtrack, it has new tracks. Second: Buyers of the original version can still download the soundtrack, free of charge. They neither need to buy the remaster nor the soundtrack for the remaster. Third: Telltale is not Skunkape. They didn't change the original game, they bought the rights to create a remaster and that's what they did. It's their decision to include the soundtrack for the remaster or not.
Last but not least: Inclulding the soundtrack the game costs 9 bucks less than the original version

Here are the prices of the original versions (before GOG offered prices in Euro):
Back to the Future: The Game $24.99
Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space $29.99
Sam & Max Save the World $29.99
Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse $34.99
Tales of Monkey Island $34.99
Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures $19.99
(04. July 2013, the day I bought them. I used a discount code, but these were the original prices)

And here are the prices of the Skunkape remasters (remaster + original game + soundtrack):
Sam & Max Save the World Game + Soundtrack Bundle: 21.19€ = 20.77$
Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space Game + Soundtrack Bundle = 21.23€ = 20.78$

Not all TT games got rereleased after TTs property was sold. Try to get your hands on Jurassic Park for example. The same could have happened to the Sam&Max games. People who didn't buy it before TTs crash could not get it at all, if it was not for the rights buyers. But instead of being glad that someone brought it back, you throw "anti-consumer" in the room, even if you get more and pay less.

When it comes to remasters, there are good and bad eggs. But just the simple fact that something gets a remaster, I call "pro" consumer, not "anti".

On that we can agree. I prefer the EGA version as well, not just because of the removed content in the VGA version.
The Loom VGA version was an experiment to use music and fully voiced dialogs that could also be played on a computer without a proper sound card. All it needed was a CD-drive, you could connect you headphones directly to it and enjoy.

Ohhhh I see now, they were just purposefully runining the Season 2 Remaster's review score, with blatant lies in part, so the developer would undo negligible changes made to a remaster that released a year prior. Sure, that's fair and balanced. That's exactly what reviews are for, also very helpful for the prospective customers to find out whether they would like the game. I understand everything now, very reasonable thought process of yours, not super creepy and vindictive AF at all. Very important contributions from non customers here, fair game, no objections, no reservations, no insinuations of ASPD. You win, landslide victory too.

Well thank fuck, what would I do with my CD versions if it did? ;) I got the games half price because I owned them on the Telltale store as well as on GOG, but I didn't add the soundtrack in the DLC version. I in fact used the more expensive option, went to bandcamp and bought them both – apparently bandcamp is the music store that gives the best cut to the artist, worlds more than Amazon or Apple ever would.

It's notable that you can, without much pain, extract the ogg files from the Sam & Max games. I've done it for The Devil's Playhouse, because that game never got an official soundtrack release. Season 1 and 2 only ever had the CD releases and the bandcamp releases. We were furious when there was no CD version of Season 3, but Telltale was on its way to stop the physical distribution altogether.

The option to add the soundtrack as a DLC is great, it costs less than the original release if bundled with the game and possibly even goes on sale once in a while. But if TDP/Season 3 ever releases here and also offers the soundtrack, I'll still buy the more expensive bandcamp version. According to the developer, one of the goals of the whole remaster project was to finally have a proper soundtrack release for the Devil's Playhouse.

Dammit, I want a proper soundtrack release to Return to Monkey Island. But that's never coming, I guess.


Thank you so much! 32 minutes to go right now until latest daily drop time. SURELY GOG WILL HAVE IT OUT TODAY.

I don't know about the cuts, but I love Bandcamp, not just for offering FLAC downloads.

If they ever are discounted, I'll rebuy my Turrican Soundtrack collection there. I already bought it on Amazon ... meh.

Germany is probably the best example to especially illustrate self-censorship.

(Regarding Sam & Max it also shows that just because devs change "their" game (fans would probably argue it's their game :-) it normally has nothing to do with (self-)censorship.)

Another example especially regarding Germany are Nazi-related symbols like Swastikas, which e.g. were removed German versions of Indiana Jones adventure games.

Yeah, that's a rather insane requirement. Another example would be the German version of Half-Life (comparison screenshot).

A couple of years ago I've gifted Harvester to a German user because it couldn't be bought on GOG.
I just looked it up on that page you have linked to and it seems like it was removed from the index in April this year!
https://www.schnittberichte.com/svds.php?Page=Titel&ID=5031
What a coincidence.

These are two things. Enjoying a product is a different concept. Let's say I like certain potato chips. I go to a supermarket and I buy a bag with potato chips. Over the past years a company offered 175g potato chips for 1,79€. And now they offering the product in the same bag but with 150g potato chips for 1,79€. Of course, the 150/175g is written on the back of the bag. What the company and the supermarket did is anti-consumer. The same bag and the same price with reduced contents. This is actually happening right now. A product being anti-consumer has nothing to do whether you enjoy a product or not.

The last price for Sam and Max Save the World on GOG and Steam was 16,79€. It included the episodes plus bonus stuff by Telltale including a version of the soundtrack. This should be your reference point.

The current price for Sam & Max Save the World Remastered is 16,79€ on GOG and Steam.

Sam & Max Save the World Game Remastered + Soundtrack Bundle is 21,19€ on GOG and Steam.

If you happen to like the game but you haven't bought the bundle then you pay 8,19€ for the soundtrack. In this case it is 24,98€ for both. The people who already bought the Telltale versions had a 50% discount to buy these remastered versions. OK. But you forget something here. You already paid for the Telltale versions. If you bought Sam and Max Save the World Telltale for 16,79€ and later the remastered version including the soundtrack then you actually have paid:

16,79€ + 10,60€ = 27,39€

The dilemma here is that the new customer who bought the bundle has paid 21,19€ and they got the old version as a bonus. Nightdive tried the same with Blade Runner. The people who already got Blade Runner also had a discount for the "Enhanced" version. They paid more than the new customer with just 8,19€ for both versions. The same thing did Beamdog with all their Enhanced versions. These deals are anti-consumer.

And DLCs are anti-consumer in general. Even if the base game is for free (*cough* EGS *cough*) you can end up paying more for the whole product (base game plus all DLCs *cough* Civ VI *cough*) without recognizing it. People actually pay more for games because of the DLCs. And it doesn't even matter whether the games are on the sale or not.

The problem is that cut content can end up being perceived as "censorship". At the end it doesn't matter whether it is called "censorship" or not. I and other people don't like contents being cut from games for whatever reasons.