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This reminded me of the fact that excellent remasters of monkey island were released on the iPhone (and a few other paltforms) but were removed from the App Store after a few years. It’s a shame, they had great new artwork and sound/music but you could switch back and forth with the old art and it was cool to see the difference in each scene.
Disney yanked them after acquiring LucasArts.
I was so pissed when I went to re-download them and they disappeared even from my Purchased list. Complained to Apple and they basically said "shouda made backups, good bye and fuck off". $12 down the drain.
Sadly, the developer never updated them for compatibility with 64-bit-only versions of iOS (iOS 11+).
How’d this get past app review? Apple has allowed zero emulators of any type on the App Store. I bet this gets crushed.
“[Apple's codex] is more what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules.”
Apple is very weird with how they interpret that part of their rules. iSH is allowed but not iDOS, etc.
> 2.5.2 Apps should be self-contained in their bundles, and may not read or write data outside the designated container area, nor may they download, install, or execute code which introduces or changes features or functionality of the app, including other apps. Educational apps designed to teach, develop, or allow students to test executable code may, in limited circumstances, download code provided that such code is not used for other purposes. Such apps must make the source code provided by the app completely viewable and editable by the user.
https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#phy...
Well... it's not an "emulator", I suppose - it's an execution-engine.
ScummVM explicitly denies being any kind of emulator.
It doesn't run the original source code of the games. Rather, it's a complete rewrite of the game that uses the original assets (images, sounds, internal scripts, etc.)
I don't think ScummVM features an emulator, rather it reimplements game engines.
Interesting.
My 5 year old sons favourite app on his Android tablet is ScummVM.
I bought all the Putt Putt, Freddy Fish, and Spy Fox games on Steam, and after copying the data files over to ScummVM on Android, my son has been enjoying them a lot.
I'd much prefer him spending his time with these rather than these toxic mobile games that target young kids with repetitive loops locked behind countdown timers and in app purchases.
And in 5 years when your for example on a long roadtrip you can buy him "The Longest journey" (don't forget the HD patches https://tljhd.github.io/)
Those games are infinitely better than anything I could find in the app store, and the whole collection was (is?) $50.
I replayed all the Spy Fox games on my steam deck a few months ago, so much fun. Point and click isn’t great on the deck but it was manageable and the nostalgia made up for it.
They are also sold as games on the App Store, but I think they use an older version of ScummVM and it was really broken for us.
I am hoping some more iOS improvements/fixes could be done. These games are amazing (still are very funny to my 4yo!). I would like to see a bigger touch area and proper touch dragging support.
While I also think they don't make games like these anymore nowadays. Please comment below with examples to proof us wrong.
Is there a place where I can legally obtain images to run on the vm?
Gog is ideal. I own several of them, and if you are patient, they run great sales throughout the year making them very cheap to obtain (and there isn't any DRM).
Steam. I bought a ton of these on Steam and just copied the data files over to my sons tablet. Works perfectly, including localisation.
https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Category:Freeware_G...
but hm, that category is larger than the category of supported games ... clicking through to the "where to get" link gives a more curated list.
There are 4 shipped in most Linux distros (probably more a matter of exact license than quality alone):
Flight of the Amazon Queen - everything you'd expect from a fantasy adventure; play this if nothing else
Beneath a Steel Sky - a good game, just not a happy one
Lure of the Temptress - this was buggy when I played it, managing to crash/freeze the VM
Drascula: The Vampire Strikes Back - cringeSteam gog
And archive.org some of the games are abandonware and free.
gog
"ScummVM is a program which allows you to run certain classic graphical adventure and role-playing games, provided you already have their data files. The clever part about this: ScummVM just replaces the executables shipped with the games, allowing you to play them on systems for which they were never designed! ScummVM is a complete rewrite of these games' executables and is not an emulator.
ScummVM supports an extensive library of over 325 adventure games, including classic titles from iconic studios such as LucasArts, Sierra On-Line, Revolution Software, Cyan, Inc. and Westwood Studios. Alongside groundbreaking games like the Monkey Island series, Broken Sword, Myst, Blade Runner and numerous well-known titles, you can experience truly obscure adventures and discover hidden gems."
For those (like me) who didn't know what ScummVM was.
There is also Dreamm https://aarongiles.com/dreamm/
DREAMM is a pretty significant project, and differs from ScummVM in a few ways. Primarily, ScummVM is an engine rewrite. They write new code that copies the behaviour of the original games.
Aaron Giles worked at LucasArts and was instrumental in porting SCUMM to Windows (for Full Throttle and Curse of Monkey Island). DREAMM is a full x86 emulator that takes the original game code and runs it directly.[0]
Amusingly enough, I guess that makes DREAMM more of a virtual machine than ScummVM is.
ScummVM 2.8.0 is a pretty big release overall, with the App Store release just being the icing on the cake. The full notes are pretty long![0]
The list of supported games has grown a lot. ScummVM is capable of running the Adibou series now, as well as the first Might & Magic game and Muppet Treasure Island!
A hefty review of the Broken Sword engine has also restored a lot of small missing features.
If you have even a passing interest in classic adventure games, you owe it to yourself to check it out.
[0]: https://downloads.scummvm.org/frs/scummvm/2.8.0/ReleaseNotes...
There is another HN thread to discuss that release here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38816506
Related:
ScummVM - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33701378 - Nov 2022 (2 comments)
ScummVM 2.5 “Twenty years ago today” - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28812403 - Oct 2021 (43 comments)
ScummVM “Interactive Fantasy” 2.2.0 Sees the Light - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24619533 - Sept 2020 (52 comments)
ScummVM 2.1.0 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21231840 - Oct 2019 (38 comments)
ScummVM 2.0 released - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15946692 - Dec 2017 (31 comments)
ScummVM ported to HTML5 - play old games in your browser - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5861429 - June 2013 (34 comments)
Maniac Tentacle Mindbenders: ScummVM's unpaid coders keep adventure gaming alive - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3508909 - Jan 2012 (7 comments)
GPL, ScummVM and violations - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2108237 - Jan 2011 (11 comments)
Atari violates the ScummVM's license - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=675418 - June 2009 (11 comments)
Is there a way to load games directly on mobile without using a cloud storage provider?
There a bunch of freely downloaded games on the ScummVM page here [0]. I can download a zip file in mobile but I can’t figure out how to get it into the app.
Ah, figured it out:
1. In mobile Safari, tap the file to download and tap ok
2. When it’s finished, tap the blue circle with a down arrow next to the address bar to open downloads
3. Tap the file you just downloaded to switch to the Files app
4. In the Files app, tap the zip file you just downloaded to uncompress it
5. Tap and hold the directory and select “Move”
6. Navigate to or search for the “ScummVM” folder
7. Tap “Move” in the upper right hand corner
Now the game should show up in the file browser within ScummVM to be added
1. In the ScummVM launcher, tap “Add Game”
2. Select the folder and tap “Choose”
Curious as to why it took so long. Anybody around knows?
I’d say it’s curious it happened at all. As others have mentioned Apple doesn’t allow emulators at all in their store, perhaps they are afraid of losing too much of the market after EU forces them to allow side-loading?
EDIT: I just checked the App Store listing for this app - I find it pretty hilarious (and for more than one reason) that it’s listed in the Adventure category which has a pirate flag for an icon.
Isn't Apple very restrictive about apps that allow running arbitrary code like emulators? I'm also a bit perplexed, unless they have changed their policy recently.
It’s got interpreters that lets it execute arbitrary (?) code, which I thought was verboten. TBH I’m not sure how this got through Apple’s censors…?
I’m surprised it’s allowed at all. To my knowledge, Apple has never allowed general purpose virtualization software.
hmmm I suspect this is because it is GPLv2 which doesn't require the freedom to RUN the program (which apple doesn't give you)
apple seems to ship software with gplv2 (old bash, etc) but no GPLv3 software.
...even though they are technically in violation of the GPL by modifying and shipping bash binaries without full source - it is missing rootless.h (not the X11 file)
> GPLv2 which doesn't require the freedom to RUN the program
It does. This is the first freedom of free software. I'm not sure the issues with distributing GPL software on the App store are specific to the GPLv3. I don't fully understand things on this, but [1] seems to be a good entry point.
> apple seems to ship software with gplv2 (old bash, etc) but no GPLv3 software.
This is an Apple policy / a choice that they make. They could decide to distribute GPLv3 software with Mac legally, but chose not to.
> by modifying and shipping bash binaries without full source - it is missing rootless.h (not the X11 file)
I would be interested in knowing more about this. I'm surprised they've not been already sued if they violate bash's license.
[1] https://opensource.stackexchange.com/questions/9500/is-apple...
Some Free Software projects are simply to good to be true. ScummVM is one of them.
I remember fondly replaying Monkey Island on my Linux machine thanks to it.
Yum, must get this for my iPad. I'm curious to see what games cam be installed with it.
Many people need more clarification about how this passed App Review, and some are bringing up 2.5.2 of the guidelines.
This doesn't meet the 2.5.2 prohibition for reasons explained elsewhere[0], and it shows a misunderstanding about which guidelines prevent commonly desired emulators.
Emulators are generally barred mainly under the intellectual property guidelines[1] in §5.2 because most emulators require copyrighted bios files to run. Some other emulators were yanked after a DMCA request, and again, others were yanked because they were disguised as other apps.
ScummVM doesn't suffer from these issues at face value, but their more significant problem is that they're licensed under GPLv3, and Apple has an unofficial policy of not allowing GPL(v3) on the App Store thanks to a gambit the FSF[2] tried to pull that blew up in their face.
They tried to force Apple to change their App Store terms by submitting an app licensed under GPL, then turned around and complained that Apple’s App Store doesn’t comply with the GPL license because it does not distribute the app without DRM and other restrictions.
Apple’s response was to remove the app and adopt a silent policy of not allowing GPL apps (and other apps with a license that collides with the App Store ToS and license).
0: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38826426
1: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#int...
2: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/more-about-the-app-store...
unfortunately it doesn't work on Apple Silicon Macs (opens then crashes). Is it available as a Mac version?
For those who don't recognize Scumm (since it's getting pretty old now...), it was an adventure game engine. Widely used for classic Lucasfilm Games/LucasArts titles. (edit fixed! See below comment)
Here's the list of supported games: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Category:Supported_...
If you're looking for recommendations...
- Zork (the OG, and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Zork
- Beneath a Steel Sky: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Beneath_a_Steel_Sky
- Blade Runner: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Blade_Runner
- The Castle of Dr. Brain (and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Castle_of_Dr._Brain
- Maniac Mansion / Day of the Tentacle: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Maniac_Mansion https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Day_of_the_Tentacle
- The Dig: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=The_Dig
- Full Throttle: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Full_Throttle
- Gabriel Knight (and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Gabriel_Knight
- Grim Fandango: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Grim_Fandango
- Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Indiana_Jones_and_t...
- Kings Quest (and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=King%27s_Quest
- Leather Goddesses from Phobos (and sequel): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Leather_Goddesses_o...
- Leisure Suit Larry (and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Leisure_Suit_Larry
- The Longest Journey: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=The_Longest_Journey
- Police Quest (and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Police_Quest
- Riven: The Sequel to Myst: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Riven:_The_Sequel_t...
- Sam and Max Hit the Road: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Sam_%26_Max_Hit_the...
- The Secret of Monkey Island (and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=The_Secret_of_Monke...
- Space Quest: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Space_Quest
IIRC, some time ago I purchased The Secret of Monkey Island from GOG, and discovered it actually packages ScummVM.
I wonder if they "give back" to the community somehow.
Been playing Might and Magic IV & V (Worlds of Xeen) on ScummVM lately, probably the best way to play them.
First person to write a browser that can run under Scumm wins an EU prize.
This is fantastic. I consider iOS far superior in so many ways over Android. Except that it is locked down so much. If iOS becomes more open, there will be nearly no reason to get an Android.
What is the appeal with games that are this old? Is the audience people that played them in their childhood? I struggle to see kids (who are used to super colourful, hyper interactive, animated games) play GBC games let alone something like this. Any ideas?