Exciting Times Here Again? - Space Quest Universe News: Friday 5 December, 2003
I can't help but to feel extremely excited about recent developments in the community. The 8th Anniversary of the Virtual Broomcloset once again fired up the flame that was slowly fading. One of the new additions to this website is an image donated by Marty who, if I recall correctly, works for the Vohaul Strikes Back fanproject. Besides that this simple image basically reflects what this entire community is about, it also shows the enormous amount of graphical talent of the Vohaul Strikes Back fanproject.

Then there is that preview about the SQ2 novilization. I've read it and I'm stunned. This is something of the quality that our own Troels Pleimert could have produced. We've seen it before, he has written novels before. I wouldn't be surprised if this is his work. The atmosphere and feeling of the preview gave me the shivers. It shows exactly how Vohaul is. How he is meant to be like. Almost like Lord Voldemort from the Harry Potter Series. Creatures do not speak of him and are afraid to death to even come close to him. Awesome. If the rest of this novel has this outrageous high standard... Then we're in for a treat.

The above are just two cool updates from the Virtual Broomcloset, which is celebrating its 8th (!!!) Anniversary! Many more years to go, I hope.

Even closer to home (my home anyway), I've received 14 truly unique sketches from Shawn Sharp yesterday in my smailmail. The sketches are the VERY same as used later on in the original game which was released 10 years ago. Yes, it's been that long. Time could not touch the talent and geniusly of his work.. The sketches are truly the most precious addition of my collection, and probably also the most unique collectibles out there. My website will soon be updated with these "exclusives". Isn't this so cool? When looking at these sketches, able to see every tiny pencil stroke, I can almost see Shawn drawing up these sketches while working along with Mark Crowe and David Selle. Click here for more.

Then we have, of course, the second Anual Spoof Contest. It's increadible how many more people submitted entry's as opposed to last year.

And of course, not forgetting our own Dee who recently started a new project which tries to unite all the loose fanprojects which got started, canned and cancelled along the way. Although it's hard to predict the outcome of this last project, it shows quite clearly that this community is all but fading. And YOU as fellow fan, poster and contributor help to keep it that way.

Recent weeks showed how the lines of our strong community are set: The Virtual Broomcloset (celebrating 8 years online this month) in the lead with top notch fan stuff. SQ.Net (celebrating 5 years online last month) closely behind with the most exclusive original first hand material from the actual games and their creators. Then we have some very promissing fanprojects actually in the works. Projects like Vohaul Strikes Back and SQ7.Org.

Who says Space Quest is dead?

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The Shawn Sharp Special! - Update: Thursday 27 November, 2003
It's finally here after two months of intensive e-mailing, negotiating, bribing, scanning, shouting and a bit of talking: The Shawn Sharp Special! Shawn and I worked hard to provide you with today's update. It features a whole bunch of new design sketches from the Space Quest 5 project and an exclusive interview. And yes, the images were scanned by Shawn himself.

Go check out the all new Space Quest 5 Design Sketch page!

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The Second Annual Fake-Off Competition - Announcement: Monday 17 November, 2003
The second Space Quest fake-off contest is about to start. This prestigious competition is all about creating an image, a fanfiction, a mp3 or a video that is in some way spoofing something, and contains Space Quest material. And yes, even Space Quest Cakes are valid entry's. This annual event is a perfect chance for those who think they have artistic talents to show off. Mind, you'll be able to win a truly awesome prize this time!

If you're interested in joining, please visit the Space Quest Fake-Off Competition website! Do look at last year entry's for a bit of inspiration. Entry's must be received on or before the 31st of December.

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Two New Miscellaneous Articles - Update: Monday 3 November, 2003
It's highly unusual for me to find time on Monday for a website update. But I got injured in a hockey match last Sunday (in which I acted like a kamikaze pilot), and the injury prevents me from going to school. Stopping a hockey ball traveling about 60 kilometers per hour with your bare knee hurts! ... A lot! So now I'm sitting here at home, unable to do so much as fart without feeling my knee. But hey, it was the save that made us win the match! So I guess it's worth it. Anyway, back to Space Quest.

I've finished working on two Miscellaneous articles today. One is the "Goodies page", we all know from the last design. It's now back online again. The other one is an article called "Buying the Games". It contains helpful tips how you can get your hands on legal copies of the Space Quest Series. I would like to thank Lorenz for his help.

On a side note, I've added a new box for the Box Art article. Ja, I know: Amazing, isn't it? But don't you get excited: It's one of those boring bundles.

PS: SpaceQuest.Net just won its second EchoRing Award, being the most improved site of all their listed sites this month! How about it, ey?

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Space Quest 7 Design Sketches Released - Update: Saturday 25 October, 2003
As any Space Quest fan should know, not much Space Quest 7 information and material survived the Chainsaw Monday onslaught. In fact, it was believed not much work was done for the project at all because of all the problems. Up until now...

As part of her 5th Anniversary celebrations, SpaceQuest.Net is very proud to exclusively bring you the twenty-two awesome drawings Richard Powell made during his work for the Space Quest 7 Project as Art Designer... It doesn't get any better than this, folks. Take me there!

Richard Powell also did a very cool interview with SpaceQuest.Net. Make sure you don't miss it. Take me there!

Besides these cool updates, the entire Space Quest 7 section has been revamped. Check out the latest Escape Factory news and the interviews about the Sierra project.

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Space Quest 1 VGA Hintbook - Update: Saturday 25 October, 2003
I've managed to get a hold on the ultra rare Space Quest 1 VGA Hintbook. SpaceQuest.Net is now the only website on the entire internet to offer all of the official Space Quest hintbooks. I retyped the hintbook and it's now part of the Space Quest 1 Hintbook section. Take me there!

Just like the SQ4 and SQ5 hintbook, the SQ1VGA hintbook also offers some very cool design sketches. I scanned and uploaded those for you to enjoy. Take me there!

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Celebrating 5 Years Online! - Announcement: Saturday 25 October, 2003
It seems only yesterday that SpaceQuest.Net first appeared on the internet. But that couldn't be further from the truth. Because today we're celebrating its 5th Anniversary!

As you might have noticed, I launched a great new website design today. The graphical design is the outcome of months hard work by fellow Space Quest fan Danny Bloks. Danny and I are very proud to release it today. I sincerely hope you like it. When we set out to design the next look of this website, we wanted to make sure it looked great. Though at the same time, we tried to keep the SpaceQuest.Net legendary easy to use navigation. Naturally, we wanted it to work on the commonly used browsers (I'll come back about that later) and on both broadband and lightweight internet connections (such as the good ol' 56K modems). That, my friends, is one hell of a task. It's not possible to please everybody, but I think I can safely say we've made this design much better than the old one.

The website is designed for a screen resolution of 1024 X 768 @ million colours (16 bit) or higher. I haven't forgot about you 800 X 600 users, but keep in mind that 800 X 600 is not a recommended resolution for the new design. The menu for instance, will not fit on your screen with that resolution. The website has been successfully tested on a large variety of browsers:

Windows users: Internet Explorer 6, Netscape 7.1, Mozilla 1.3.1 and Opera 7. All these browsers are available for free. I recommend using the newest Internet Explorer.

Macintosh users: Internet Explorer 5.2.3, Safari 1.0 (though the pop up windows are placed randomly. I'm confident future versions won't have this small inconvenience), Camino 0.7, Netscape 7.1 and Mozilla 1.3.1. All these browsers are available for free. Sadly, Opera for Mac is not a recommended browser for this website because of its terrible Java coding. I must add though, that java is not required to view this website, but it will make your life a whole lot easier. I recommend using the newest Safari or Internet Explorer if you're a Macintosh user.

Here is a list of the most important new features:

For the manuals I've started offering PDF files instead of ZIP archives. I feel PDF offers more advantages. The manuals are now easier to print and you've got all the pages neatly in one file. So say goodbye to those separate files of the ZIP archives... Although that's not entirely true. I've decided to keep the individual files, so you're not forced to use a PDF reader.

I've incorporated Javascript pop up windows which can be found throughout the website. This is most obvious in the Screenshot pages.

Another major technical update are all the video files found on this website (for instance: the Space Quest 3 Promo Video and the Current Inside Copy Video). You'll get presented with a pop up window which features an on-line QuickTime video, information about the video and information about the file you're about to download. The QuickTime video is optional eye candy, you don't need to have it installed. Though I highly recommend just that. Get your free QuickTime plug-in today.

But that's not all what's new today. I've done countless of small updates and improvements across the entire website! The most important updates are listed below.

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October 15, 2003

Announcement
The Anniversary is getting closer by the minute... No, really. It is! The website will be put offline one day in advance (in the evening of October 24th, GMT +2) to make room for the new design. As 20:00 GMT +2 comes closer on October the 25th, the website will gradually be put back online. The complete new website is about 460 MB, so you can imagine this takes a lot of uploading time.

Anyway, I'd better get back to work. There's still plenty of work for me.

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September 22, 2003

Site Update
I've got a small but very interesting update today. The Space Quest 3 Funfacts page contains information about a certain "bear-like" creature that didn't make it into the actual game. But we already knew that, right? ... Just recently, I managed to acquire a PCGames Magazine from December 1989 which features a 4 page-review about Space Quest 3. The review contains a screenshot of this very same bear-like creature, only this time, much larger than the one I originally found in the Sierra Catalogue Summer 1988 edition. I've added a scan of this image to the "bear article" for you to enjoy (or click on the image you see here to the right (150 KB))! Read both pages to get the latest information. Hey, and it's a blond Roger again (Space Quest 3 would eventually feature a brown-haired Roger). Very interesting to see early beta images like this, don't you agree?

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September 15, 2003

Space Quest Universe News:

The Inventory releases article about SQ7.Org
-- New work released by the team --

Just Adventure has released a new edition of their adventure magazine called "The Inventory". Issue 8 features an article about the SQ7.Org project. The article contains a few images we haven't seen yet (you can see one of them here on the left), so it's well worth the download (3MB zip file containing a PDF).

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September 3, 2003

Site Update
Hello all, and welcome to your favorite Space Quest website! Today, we got one update to share with you, namely the Space Quest 6 funfact page. It has been updated with all the SQFAQ information and with some additional stuff as well. I'd like to thank the Broomcloset for her additions.

Work on the Anniversary continues. More slowly than I would have hoped for, but I guess we'll pick up the pace as the date comes closer. I wish I could tell you a bit about it but, sadly, I cannot. It will ruin the surprise, won't it?

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August 21, 2003

Site Update
I've just uploaded the new Space Quest 4 funfacts, with tons of new cool stuff. The section called "Stuff that didn't make it into the final game" is here thanks to my two Space Quest friends Jeysie and Justas. I hope to expand that section in the future, as the new SCI editor can't be far from being released.

But that's not all. I've also updated the Space Quest 5 funfacts! And I'd like to thank Jim Warren for his tidbits for the Cheat and Debugs section.

Yes, implementing the SQFAQ into the the website goes slowly, but steadily. Incidentally, if you have additions for the first 5 Funfact pages, let me know!

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August 15, 2003

Announcement
SpaceQuest.Net just won its first major web award. My favorite abandonware webring, Echoring, has awarded my little website with their "Best Content award" for the month August. Very cool indeed. I wouldn't be surprised if the upcoming design would win the "Best Design" prize! My designer is doing more than an awesome job. I just want to keep you all warmed up for that one, because the anniversary truly is something to looking forward too. I don't know about you, but I'm already counting down the days!

Before the anniversary, I'll have one or two updates in store which you can't afford to miss! Won't spoil nothing yet. Anyway, the only update today is the link page. I've added two great Quest for Glory fansites... I haven't told you guys about that new T-shirt in the merchandise store, have I? Ooh well, there you go.

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August 4, 2003

Announcement
I just wanted to give you an update about what's going on behind the scenes. SpaceQuest.Net is preparing its 5th anniversary which will be celebrated at the 25th of October, 2003. I won't go into any details yet, but just recently, the design work of the new website lay out and introduction movie have been finished. I'm sure everything will be ready at the anniversary. Of course, there's much more to look forward too, but I won't spoil nothing...

Make sure you've read the latest news, which will be posted at the Janitorial Times. The message board will also be used to poll certains idea's I have in mind. Make sure you make yourself heard!

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July 19, 2003

Announcement
I just got back from France. I've had two awesome weeks, but can't help to feel glad to be back home. I've got a few weeks before the new school term starts. So naturally, work on the website will resume momentarily. For more information about what I'm up to please consult the news archive.

Space Quest Universe News:

Space Quest 0 Replicated
-- Jeff Stewart's awesome AGI fangame --

It's been almost a month since Jeff Stewart released "Space Quest 0: Replicated". Download the game if you haven't already done so! The newest version of "SQ0: Replicated" is version 1.04 (660 KB), which features a number of bug fixes. The game is receiving enormous amounts of publicity. For more information, please visit the Virtual Broomcloset which has an entire section dedicated to this great game.

If you need help with the game, post a hint request at the Janitorial Times! There's also this walk through (40 KB). But please note, it might ruin the game!

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June 25, 2003

Announcement
I seem to remember telling you that I wouldn't be updating this website the coming two months. Which goes to show that the best of us must sometimes eat our words. Recent developments are too important to not notice.

Space Quest Universe News:

Month of the Fangames
-- several interesting developments in the fanproject scene --

Jeff Stewart has just released his AGI Space Quest fangame called "Replicated". You can download it here (660 KB).

At the 15th of June, Colin Davis released a new status update at Sq7.Org about the "Space Quest 7" project. The "Space Quest: The Prequels" project is going through some rough times. Just recently, Danny Bloks (project leader) announced he has decided to finish the fangame on his own. The project is close to releasing a demo for the beta testers. "Vohaul Strikes Back" and "The Goliath Series" are also two projects showing potential to be released the future. If you'd like to know more about the many fangames and fanprojects, please take a look at this website.

Now please excuse me while I continue my small Sabatical.

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June 10, 2003

Announcement
Hey all! It has been a while since the last update. First off, I'd like to thank those who've replied to my Flash animator call (see previous announcement for details). I'd like to say that a highly competent (and secret) team started working on the anniversary update. Although that update is still months ahead of us, it already makes me excited. And that's saying something.

I'm busy arranging my summer holidays and I'm trying to successfully round off the third year of my study. You know how teachers like to give last minute tests and essays. Further more, I'm a little bit "Space Quest tired" at the moment. Since New Year, I've been updating this website about 4 times each month (not even mentioning the thousand small tweaks and repairs nobody seems to notice), which comes down to about one major update a week. It left me a bit tired... If I can call it that way. In the coming two months or so it will be pretty quiet around here. Every farmer knows he's got to leave his fields fallow from time to time to ensure good future harvests. I want to enjoy my vacation with doing absolutely nothing but sleeping, drinking a few beers with me buddy's and playing the Return to Castle Wolfenstein multiplayer with my clan... That and some other blatant summer activities you don't want to hear about. Looking back at this horrendous school year, I think I've deserved just that.

But don't you worry. I'm full with inspiration. I actually like to claim I haven't had so many new idea's since I resumed updating back in July 2001. But as I said, the motivation to do anything is "a bit" lacking right now. During my small holiday I'll be answering your e-mails as usual and I'll be around at the Janitorial Times.

Cheers suckers! :P

Site update
Well, you could have seen this one coming. It's not much but pretty cool none the less. The Space Quest 3 funfact page has been updated. It now includes the SQFAQ thingies as well as some other stuff. Go check it out.

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May 23, 2003

Announcement
I'm already preparing the upcoming 5th anniversary of SpaceQuest.Net (25th October, 1998 - 25th October, 2003). I have this cool idea in mind for an intro flash video but I lack the required skill to pull off such project. So I'm asking for help. I'm looking for a guy who knows a bit about flash (more than I do, which isn't all that much to ask). I don't need no hacker, just somebody who knows a bit about it and can make a decent thing or two. It would be nice if you can work with the AGI and SCI editors because I want to extract some graphics from the SQ games for the movie. If you want to work with me on this intro movie, please contact me. I hope you can show me a piece of your work.

Site update
I'd like to start with a small correction/addendum for the new Space Quest 4 TV commercial. You might want to make a difference between the term "TV commercial" and "(national) broadcasted TV commercial". This promo movie was most likely shown during computer fairs. Or it might have played on a monitor inside several software stores. Whether it was broadcasted on (national) television is unlikely. Little information is available about this item so we may never know. But what da heck, it's cool none the less.

I've updated the Space Quest 1 Funfact page, now with the SQFAQ SQ1 section completely integrated.

Also updated is the Space Quest Box page which now features home made scans of the Space Quest 1 EGA version 3 box (the one with the screen shot of Ulence Flats). Not only that, but it so happens to be an ultra rare copy that has the Two Guys photo mirrored by mistake. I recently aquired this item. Boy, how lucky can a guy get?

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May 22, 2003

Site update
A very cool update today folks, thanks to Alistair Gillett! SpaceQuest.Net is proud to be the first and only website to offer a digitalized copy of the original: The Space Quest 4 TV commercial which appeared in the winter of 1990, just before the christmas holidays! It has been discovered just recently and strangly nobody knows where it comes from. It's right there in the downloads page. Or just click here (1,4 MB). Too bad the quality of the MPEG file is pretty poor to say the least.

More updates coming this weekend, stay tuned! As usual, your feedback, comments, suggestions and stuff are highly appreciated.

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May 9, 2003

Site update
The first step has been made to fully integrate the Space Quest FAQ to this website. Check out the Space Quest 2 Funfact page to see what that means. For you who don't have a clue, the Space Quest FAQ (87,2 KB) is a massive document which contains almost everything you want to know about Space Quest. Troels Pleimert, the original writer, handed over the project to me. First I wanted to update it but now I'm planning to implement it to this website. I would really like to get some feedback from you about this one. Do you think I should update the rest of the funfact pages too? Or don't you like it? Please let me know by replying to the "SQ FAQ Report 3" thread at the Janitorial Times. You'll find more information and my thoughts there too.

The download page has been updated. I've added an MPEG file of the Space Quest 3 promo video. The file is much smaller (though the quality hasn't suffered) and best of all, you don't need any obscure plug-in for your video program.

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April 26, 2003

Announcement
In these last few months, several attempts have been made to re-establish contact with one of the God Fathers of the Series - that Scott Murphy guy. SpaceQuest.Net did receive some messages which seemed to originate far beyond our Quadrant, quite possibly from Scott Murphy himself. But communications were lost not soon afterward. Maybe it was a broken Large Distance Radio Array Relocator? A Subspace Dimension Distortion Anomaly? Or maybe Scott just hit that good old "BLOCK THIS SPAM MESSAGE!" button? We may never know. Brandon Klassen, drawn into this mess by a dying Keronian, and some unknown Dutch™ idiot (who's doing a shitty job at Battle Cruiser in the process), recently decided to take action. A Very Large Radio Submitting Array was just recently installed in this Dutch guy's backyard (his parents were most aggrieved to find they now had some minor extra shadows on their lawn), to ensure maintenance of a successfully re-established Com-Link with Scott Murphy himself. While many of you might have your doubts about this, I also sent that DEAD OR ALIVE pamphlet to his e-mail address on behalf of the entire Space Quest Community. If that doesn't work, I don't know what will. So stop mailing me those stupid questions. I don't know how Scott is doing. I don't know if he had a gender change. I don't know if he wears a diaper. I just know as much as you guys. Well, I know that SQ7.Org really is a secret project developing the next Weapon of Mass Destruction (whoopsie, sorry Colin) and that the Virtual Broomcloset is participating in a petition to get George Bush into power.... Download a larger version (200 KB) of that dirty barf-stained pamphlet.

You can now ORDER your own "WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE" poster via the SpaceQuest.Net merchandise store. The poster is 15" by 19" and only costs $11.99. I'm not making any profit with this one. Go to the store, and order yours today.

 

Site update
The Space Quest 1, 2 and 3 funfacts page has been updated, bringing NEVER RELEASED images of the Space Quest Series to daylight for the very first time. Besides that, I've included tons of new information in all three of them as bonus. The download page is updated again, adding 3 obscure patches nobody needs anymore these days thanks to Windows. Aaah yes, then we have that link page again, adding two links of interest.

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April 19, 2003

Space Quest Universe News:

SierraGamers.Com
-- Ultimate Interactive Nostalgia? --

We can all remember that long dead website SierraGamers.Com which Jouke Koning once started. It was probably the last active vestige of the overall Sierra Community, which sadly died when the original domain name (sierra-online.com) expired. Just recently it looks like Ken Williams himself decided to grab that virtual quill and revive it. The looks are primitive but the idea behind it all is grand. Visitors are able to register and post stuff themselves. I suggest you to take a look. No fancy sight seeing for the faint-hearted, just hard core Sierra stuff under construction. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you this. But if you think this is good news wait until you hear about the stuff that's soon to come!

 

Site Updates
I'm doing a lot interesting "behind the scenes" work at the moment. Let's hope all the hard work will yield at least something soon. Acting like an Astro Chicken without a head, I've also been busy with more "down to Earth stuff" like actually updating the website. I really should consider getting a social life for a change. But hey, the SpaceQuest.Net domain name will not expire in the coming 5 years so I gotta do something for a livin'. I'll start with probably the largest addition, which is an update of the download page. I appreciate any feedback, additions, remarks and suggestions! Visit the TalkSpot and say your thing. Enjoy today's update.

The second most visited page on this site has been updated, featuring a few minor (but much needed) tweaks. Probably far more interesting is the addition of the Current Inside Copy video from the Space Quest Collection! A very cool video you're not allowed to miss as Space Quest fanatic. Than we have the Space Quest 6 demo! Yes yes, it's there at last. Besides that, I've updated some video files. It all becomes clear when you visit the download page.

A lot of work went into updating the Space Quest 6 goodies page, which now contains a review of the German "Best of Sierra" magazine. The magazine was labeled as Box in the Box page but obviously this is the wrong place for this item.

I've edited the Escape Factory SQ7 page a little bit to reflect the latest changes of the FYE website. Also included in the latest news post is information I got from Danny Bloks.

Then we have the small thingies nobody cares about, like the updated link page.

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April 12, 2003

Space Quest Universe News:

Wrapping up project Escape Factory
-- PlayStation 2, Xbox game? --

I think we all agree Escape Factory was working for Sierra on a Space Quest game. And if you don't take my word for it (I know some mistrusted fans do for some reason) you can find GameSpot articles, AdventureGamers articles and several other gamesite articles all stating the same.

It's been about two months since Sierra told Escape Factory to stop making that new Space Quest game we were all dying to see. Recently I e-mailed James Gwertzman (founder of Escape Factory) who replied on April 1rst 2003 with a simple statement: "I'm afraid we can not talk about the project at all."

I had long ago concluded mailing Sierra or Escape Factory about the project is completely useless. Though this time I had high hopes that they might tell me something now that the project is cancelled. But no dice. I should have known because when I called Escape Factory myself on February 4 2003, I talked with an employee who told me they are under strict contract that forbids them to say anything. It's all up the publisher (supposed to be Sierra) to inform the public, announce anything and/or release information/material of the game. This contract that guy was talking about seems to run parallel with Sierra's policy to not comment on unreleased games. On the same day, Josh Mandel stepped forward stating:

"Given this news, I believe I'll step forward and tell you what little I know about the project. This information comes from a Sierra connection.

1. While it used the Space Quest name, it was not an adventure game.
2. While it used the Space Quest name, it would've borne little, if any, resemblance to the SQ we know and love.

Why? Because the team at Escape Factory was specifically told by Sierra NOT to even PLAY or LOOK AT the existing Space Quest games before working on the new game. Now, Escape Factory has some former Sierra employees, so it's likely that they brought some knowledge of the series to the table. How much prior information they were free to incorporate into the project, I don't know. However, it's clear that Sierra did NOT WANT the project to resemble the existing SQ games, let alone closely follow the canon."

Mind you, this statement was precisely the complete opposite from what my sources told me: "All the developers involved have played the previous Space Quest games before they started designing. They are working very hard on the story at the moment." It's not a matter of who you believe though, I'm just trying to point out the misinformation and secrecy surrounding the project.

For some it was hard to believe the game might not have been an adventure game at all, but an action/strategy kind of thing. Recently, I've learned the game wasn't going to be a PC game at all, but a PlayStation 2 or Xbox game. This information comes from the FYE website who have stores all over America selling computer games, DVD's, CD's and stuff. Sadly, just recently their Space Quest page has been removed from their catalogue, but it was listed there. Of course a would-be futile attempt to get more information about all this was bluntly cut off. In a reply to an e-mail I sent to FYE: "In reference to your email on the Space Quest game, I did some research on the title. This is being provided to us from out content provider only. Our games buyer has no information on it yet in our store system. I would say this is most likely tentative at best currently as no other information appears to be available. Please check back with the site as the content will be updated as it becomes available to us. Hope this helps."

And it sure doesn't.

Space Quest fan Danny Bloks received an e-mail from Bruce Goodwill, Vivendi's Product Manager, who told him: "Sierra is looking at bringing out a Space Quest in Q4 2003 but this will be on the Console platform and not for PC unfortunately! I will forward you more information on the title as I receive it."

That's the third time a seventh installment gets cancelled. And as far as I'm concerned, that's three strikes, you're out! Additional reading about a Leisure Suit Larry project here. Seems like Space Quest had the longest breath. But not long enough.

 

Site update:
Phew! Now for the site updates. Since I concluded the Escape Factory project is over, I made the nessecary changes in the menu and the former SQ7 rumor page.

The book review page has been updated again, additing two new book reviews, more information about the German Sybex Sq4 hintbook and more information concerning the ISBN number of "Die Space Quest Story".

The InterAction Magazine page has been updated! I've corrected a mistake. The 1993 summer edition was actually the spring edition. To make it up to you, I've not only corrected the mistake but included the REAL 1993 summer edition, which contains three cool SQ5 related pages! Or was that the spring edition?

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April 5, 2003

Announcements:
I'm selling a Space Quest 6 copy and made a few announcements at the Talkspot. Most notably about a cold reply I got from James Gwertzman, founder of Escape Factory. Check it out for more information.

 

Space Quest Universe News:

INN / TSN : the remake
-- project well underway --

Unknowingly to us Sierra fans (well, until now anyway), Zane Wagner is busy creating a remake of the popular Sierra Network. Some of you might remember INN / TSN from the old days. If you do not, please visit this article created by Al Lowe for more information (which basically explains why the SQ7 multiplayer never took off in the process). I found Zane's website by accident and was immediately enthusiastic. The site is update very regularly and already has some beta screen shots. Please visit his site for more information! Do post at his message board if you have additions or suggestions!

 

Site update:
The book review page has been updated, adding 3 books. Some reviews have been changed a little bit. Worth checking out. This page will be updated again soon as I'm waiting for a new book to arrive.

Now for the minor updates. The box art page continues to grow, adding one new box and changing a few comments. Although the updates of this page are usually very small, it continues to grow steadily to a very complete database. It does start to get rather impressive, doesn't? I've updated the Take a Break Pinball ZIP archive on the download page by Akril's request. The game is much easier to UNZIP and to install. Also, I've added some comments for some of the downloads. Nothing major. At the Space Quest 2 Funfact page, Al Lowe (creator of the Leisure Suit Larry Series) has been added in the music credits. Looks like Al might be responsible for the Vohaul theme! I've added a comment about the a Space Quest 5 animation timer issue at the timer page. Since the Space Quest webpage of Sierra isn't publicly available anymore, I've removed the links to that pages all around my website, replacing them with an early screen shot.

As you can see, a few minor updates, making the website a little bit more complete. Rome wasn't built in one day either ;)

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March 24, 2003

Announcements:
SpaceQuest.Net has once again changed servers. It laughable how hosting companies are treating their customers these days. More information about all this can be found by reading my ramblings at the Talkspot. The mailinglist database could not be saved during the server changed so I've closed down that particular site feature.

Please be on the lookout for broken pages or links and corrupt or missing files. Report them to me ASAP. Checking over 450 MB of Space Quest goodieness alone is simply impossible.

Now that all this server nonsense is once again a thing of the past, expect to see the next update within two weeks.

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March 15, 2003

Announcements:
SpaceQuest.Net has opened its own Cafeshop! It's an online store were you can buy all kinds of unofficial Space Quest merchandise like t-shirts, coffee mugs, mousepads, stickers and other funny stuff. The store can be accessed by the following URL: http://merchandise.spacequest.net, or by clicking on the link in the Miscellaneous menu. I sell these items without making any profit. The money you pay is the money needed to produce them for you. You can pay using your credit card, check card, check, money order, cafecash or by using PayPal (which I highly recommend). I hope to introduce more items in the future. As usual, all your comments and suggestions are welcome! I'm personally very excited about these funny items. I hope you have a look and consider to place an order.

My website host, LavaHost, has been acquired by AffordableHOST. And "under very friendly terms", no less. I can't say I'm enthusiastic about this. I hope this won't have an affect on the quality and availability of SpaceQuest.Net. Last night, the website was offline for a considerable amount of time because the new owners installed a more power failure backup machines. Please let me know if you notice any difference in site loading speeds and/or availability. Let's hope for the best and that AffordableHOST isn't all that crappy as it sounds.

 

Space Quest Universe News:
Catch up with all the news and rumors about the rumored new Space Quest game: click here!

WWW.SIERRA.COM
-- has changed its look --

A week or so ago, Sierra's website has got a new look. The look is almost identical to the VI games' website which painful reminds us of the band between Vivendi Universal games and Sierra Entertainment. Our beloved Space Quest Page (116 KB) (shown here on a screen shot taken some months ago) has been removed. However, when searching for "Space Quest" you can find the Next Mutation. The page has a link to the Amazon website which offers the collection (out of stock and discontinued no less). It seems to me that the Space Quest V page is a "left over" and is there by mistake.

 

Site update:
And now for the site updates: The Interaction page has been updated, adding the Spring 1994 edition. It contains an article which speculates about upcoming Sierra titles and Space Quest 6 is one of them. Very interesting to read about Scott Murphy and Josh Mandel's involvements in this game. It also mentions some early development ramblings like the original title of the game which was going to be "Where in the Corpsman Santiago is Roger Wilco?". As the article predicted, that ugly letter did came. I'd say it's a must look!

I've fixed a few broken links. The most important fix is the Mo'Slo utility (9 KB) as mentioned in the Timer Problem page. It can now be downloaded.

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March 7, 2003

Site update:
Hello and welcome! You've arrived just in time for the latest update. A few problems and solutions have been added to the Technical Problems and Database page.

I can hardly believe it myself but the Box Art page has been updated once again! Four new boxes have been added, including a rare Polish collection I found at the internet... Which was just recently adopted to my ever increasing Space Quest collection (271 KB). And no, it's not complete, although it's without a doubt the largest collection in this universe.

In the meantime, it might be prudent to tell you that Mark Crowe has recently been spotted at the Talkspot, this website's message board. Check it out and share your thoughts with us.

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March 1, 2003

Site update:
I've just completed writing the largest article ever on this site, which is located in the Miscellaneous section. It's about building the ultimate Space Quest computer. Are you tired of all these slow down utilities that don't work? Are you fed up with all the error messages Space Quest throws at you when you're trying to run it in Windows? Why, then go back to the 90's and build your perfectly Space Quest configured computer!

The Timer Problem page has been updated. It features a huge amount of new additions, problems and best of all: solutions. Go check it out.

The Technical Problems and Database page is slowly but steady expanding to an ever more complete library. I already received some great additions from you guys, which I greatly appreciate. I might not have had the time to add all of them, but will do so in the future.

You might have noticed the gracious PHP critical error at Roger Wilco's Talkspot: this website's forum. The problem seems to have resolved itself somehow. Let's hope it doesn't appear again. It looks like THE Mark Crowe recently posted a message! Be sure you don't miss anything and start posting.

At last, but certainly not least: My website's hosting provider, LavaHost.Net, has moved my site to an even faster server, which Microsoft uses for their the website's connectivity. The site's loading speed as increased dramatically since then. Neat huh?

I hope you will enjoy today's update. It certainly was a huge job. As usual, any feedback is most welcome.

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February 18, 2003

Site update:
I've got quite a few updates for you today. Firstly, the book review page has been revamped: adding a new so-called "availability rating" and one new book. Secondly, the Space Quest 2 soundtrack page has been updated: adding improved songs from the game. Thanks Alistair!

And last but not least, a complete new page has been opened in the miscellaneous section. This new page includes Q&A's about all kind of technical issues one might encounter when playing, installing and/or optimising Space Quest. I'm trying to make a complete troubleshooting database so to speak, which gives answers to every question and offers solutions for every problem imaginable.

The current listing is from original Sierra documentation and is probably outdated and/or not complete for most people out there. I'll add a few new problems and solutions in the future, but I need YOUR help to make this page more complete. When you have encountered a problem that isn't in this database and have found a solution to come with it, please mail me. Your corrections and/or additions for items that are already listed are, of course, most welcome too.

Future updates of this page will feature a search option. Though at this time, I don't know how to implement this. And as you can see, the listing of the problems is a mess at the moment. Any suggestions or help are most welcome. PLEASE HELP IMPROVING THIS PAGE! :)

Space Quest Universe News:
Catch up with all the news and rumors about the rumored new Space Quest game: click here!

The Good Old Adventure Project
-- is completed! --

In August 2002 SpaceQuest.Net talked about a new multiplayer chatroom project by Martin Kool. His project has been completed some weeks ago and available to all. He named it "Good Old Adventures" or GOA for short. The current version doesn't include the amount of screen Martin promissed back in August, but he assured me he's working on adding more of them. Hell, he already released a cool developing kit, which you can use to create your own screens and characters. From his website:

Good Old Adventures (GOA) is a FREE multi-user chatworld, based on the classic adventuregames made by Sierra On-Line in the '80s and '90s. GOA tries to let you relive those good old adventures, but this time with your friends. Play your favorite character and travel through your favorite adventure gaming world, meeting other fans as you move along.

Right now, there is no real story or gaming element, and the number of rooms and playable actors isn't that big, but we do have several nice plans for the future (like minigames, multiplayer puzzles and inventory-related things). If time and income permit, of course. Also, you can contribute rooms yourself soon! Check out the Development Kit section for that! And of course, the GOA engine is capable of a whole lot more. Just because the current world only consists of the old blocky graphics that featured the original adventure games (made with Sierra's "AGI" engine), that doesn't mean we shouldn't go any further. Right now, the GOA engine offers all functionalities to recreate a whole new gaming world in the newer Sierra style called "SCI", or even Lucasart's "SCUMM" style. Yes, you are reading it correctly, there is no problem into creating a multiplayer Day of the Tentacle where you can play Dr Fred, Guybrush Threepwood or Indiana Jones!

Good Old Adventures is built with an entirely new technology: it is called HTML which is short for HyperText Markup Language. It also uses some sort of programming language to make special things happen. This is called script and we use the "javascript" variant. There is also a Visual Basic scripting language. The communication between you and the other players requires no plug-ins whatsoever. No java applets, flash or other stuff needed. Just a browser that is listed in the following system requirements:

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
For Windows:
* Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher
* Netscape 7 (or higher)
* Mozilla 1.0 or higher (or similar redesigns of Mozilla, like Phoenix)

For MacIntosh users:
* Netscape 7 (or higher)
* Mozilla 1.0 or higher (or similar redesigns of Mozilla, like Phoenix)

Other systems:
* Well, we expect most systems to use a Mozilla browser to be able to run GOA

For more information, visit the GOA website.

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February 6, 2003

Site update:
Maybe I can ease your pain that caused the latest Space Quest Universe News a little bit with today's update. I've updated the box page once again, adding one more box for you to enjoy. I've also added Space Quest related scans of the fall 1995 issue of InterAction Magazine to my site. Worth checking out!