Hey all. Being in the final stages of implementing support for the Xeen games in ScummVM, I've included support for Swords of Xeen as well. I've already identified and implemented the code for it's main menu and death screen, but I'm having trouble locating the code for showing the static screen it shows when you complete the game. I'm hoping if someone has an original savegame right from the end of the game, and can tell me what to do to trigger the ending, I can locate the relevant code in the DosBox debugger and have the game properly supported.

Sorry, just realised you're looking for the Swords of Xeen save, not the vanilla game.

Have fun: http://sox.playazlounge.net/files/SWRD01.SAV

Just walk out the door to activate the "win screen."

Also, on a semi-related note, the password for the "mystery" terminal on level 3 is "to error is human" :-)

How did you find that code? it is actually mentioned in game anywhere?

The same way I found the passwords for the terminals in GreyHaven ("davidlordofgreyhaven" and "rodofthedarkwolf") -- magic!

Thanks that did the trick; with it, I was able to quickly find the code and implement. Of course, trying to actually teleport to that location (the ship) in ScummVM caused a crash due to invalid monster data. So it seems supporting Swords will still require some further workarounds once I've got World of Xeen working properly. ;)

SoX doesn't read monster data from the monster definition tables (XEEN.MON / DARK.MON), it reads it from XEEN.DAT for some reason -- if the structure is the same, I could probably build a monster definition table for Swords (if I remember, I will look into this tomorrow). Also, there are more weapons in SoX than WoX.

Yes, I already read in the monster list dynamically from the CC. Swords of Xeen has 96 monster types listed. However, map 84 (SpaceShip Level 1), has the first monster in use at position (31,1) with a sprite Id (monster type) of 145. So my engine throws a wobbly trying to get the data for the monster. It looks like at least several following that use a monster type of 145 as well. I could be wrong, but it may be that these are either "placeholder" monsters that the scripts later manipulate or, more likely, simply dummy monster entries that the modders never properly fiilled out.

If it's the latter, it may be a simple matter of simply ignoring such bad entries when encountered. But I want to leave in the checks for now, whilst I'm fixing remaining bugs in the engine and testing World of Xeen. Just in case any such error occurs there may indicate something I've done wrong in how I load the monster and object data for a map.

Also, interesting if there are more weapon types. If that's the case, I may need to hunt down any changes in weapon handling that may have been hacked into the executable. Do you have any specific details of what was changed?

Here's what I know about enemies and weapons at the end of Swords of Xeen:

The enemies you fight are Annihilators and Autobots, like those from Darkside of Xeen. The major difference is that they have the same defensive properties that Lord Xeen has, namely that they are immune to all weapons and spells except for weapons like the Xeen Slayer Sword.

The weapons that don't exist in the WoX but do in SoX are the Elder weapons. There are 6 Elder weapons in SoX, each of which functions like a non-magical weapon of its type, except that it ignores resistances just like the Xeen Slayer Sword in WoX. (Note that the bow doesn't seem to work properly; it almost never hits, making it useless.)

It might be worth playing through the Dungeon of Death in WoX, just to make sure the enemies and properties are working, plus the final floor uses the same graphics that are used in SoX's final dungeon. Also, is it possible to beat Clouds of Xeen yet?

Thanks for mentioning that. It may help me track down any hacks they did to the game to support it, knowing what they're called. No, the engine is still a work in progress, though it's getting close to done. There are various UI issues that still need to be fixed, and many of the spells are broken, particularly combat spells. Plus, I imagine other crashes with the scripting system will be revealed as I work my way through the game. At the moment, I'm able to complete Vertigo and the Dwarf Mines, and go to Rivercity. Just, you know, using bows on all characters and avoiding spellcasting :)

This stuff with Swords is just that I want to make sure that when an official testing period is announced, all of the games (Clouds, Dark Side, World, & Swords) are playable.

The Xeen Slayer Sword is weapon 34
The 6 "Elder weapons" are weapons 35 thru 40

See attached.

With that, I've been able to add in the differences for Sword of Xeen, and now the Spaceship map loads correctly; the handling of Elder weapons should work correctly as well. Thanks :)

Those interested in my progress can follow my progress on the ScummVM Planet blog site. The big news is that, as of last weekend, Clouds of Xeen is now completable in my ScummVM Xeen engine. Now I'm moving onto playing through Dark Side, and will do likewise for Swords after that. Expect an announcement for public testing within the next month or so.

I was just thinking that I wouldn't mind playing through these games again. Looking forward to the public testing period :)