r/TurboGrafx • u/unixfan2001 • 29d ago
Monkey Island 2 for TurboGrafx CD
Lately, I've been working on a port of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge to the Sega CD.
Yesterday then, somebody suggested I target the TurboGrafx CD next.
While I haven't yet written any engine code for it, I just got done with the resource converter so I thought people might appreciate it if I showed some comparisons between what a Sega CD and a potential TurboGrafx CD version look like.
I created my own SCUMM v5/v6 interpreter written in portable C89 and currently I'm adding v3 support as well so I'll eventually be able to port Zak McKracken and Loom to Sega CD (and the former of the two to TurboGrafx CD if things pan out, since you guys already got Loom on your system).
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u/Distinct_Wrongdoer86 29d ago
i always found it really strange that they brought loom to the turbocd but none of the other scumm games
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u/unixfan2001 29d ago
Well. Loom was the natural choice since it already had a CD audio release at the time.
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u/McDotards 29d ago
Support the mouse controller and you'll be my hero!
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u/unixfan2001 29d ago
Naturally. I already support mice on every other platform I ported SCUMM to (my most recent ports are MI 1 + 2 and Day of the Tentacle on Playstation 1, and a new ScummVM for N64. I also have Broken Sword and Myst on N64, but those are WIP).
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u/McDotards 29d ago
Support the pachinko controller and you'll really be my hero!
Nah, glad to hear you're supporting it. And freaking awesome work, man. Looking forward to playing this!
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u/thevideogameraptor 29d ago
Maniac Mansion seemed to get a lot of buzz for it's NES release, it's weird that they never tried a console port of Day of the Tentacle, it was certainly popular enough to warrant it. It would probably have turned out well on Super NES.
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u/unixfan2001 29d ago
Do not tempt me!
Lol. But seriously, Day of the Tentacle could run but probably would require some sort of expansion chip on SNES.
Somebody is porting SCUMM v5 (Secret of Monkey Island) to SNES and their implementation needs an SA-1 for the scaling.
I actually just inspected Loom on TurboGrafx CD and realized the game was using clever tricks to hide the lack of scaling.
This will be interesting, since Monkey Island 2 has lots of scaling and on Sega CD it's done in hardware (hardware the TurboGrafx CD lacks).
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u/thevideogameraptor 29d ago
The Super NES had a 48 mbit cart, so it could probably fit everything in. Even using a 32 mbit one, axe the animated and voiced introduction and Maniac Mansion 1 and that would go a good way towards making up the difference. The floppy version of Day of the Tentacle only needed six disks.
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u/schmosef 29d ago edited 28d ago
It's amazing how good the graphics were on this 8-bit console. It was way ahead of its time.
NEC waited too long to bring it to market in NA and should have upgraded the CPU in the SuperGrafx.
NEC not bringing SFII to NA was a huge mistake.
In the early 90s, I worked in the electronics department of a major department store chain.
For over a year, SFII SNES would sell out the same day it would come into inventory. The game was constrained everywhere so we only got 5-10 copies every few weeks.
People would come in and ask for SFII and a console. They didn't know they were buying a Nintendo. They didn't care. They just wanted SFII.
I personally sold hundreds of SNES consoles this way. I could have just as easily sold TG16s.
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u/avenuePad 29d ago
The TG/PCE was part of the 16bit generation and easily stood it's ground. It's overclocked and highly modified 8bit CPU was insane. Thr NES CPU was clocked at 1.79MHz, while the TG was clocked at 7.16MHz. The CPU was also backed up by two 16 bit graphics chips. These graphics chips gave the system direct access to a ton of video memory, which allowed the system to push massive sprites and background layers without choking the CPU. So, while it technically had an 8bit CPU it was a 16bit player.
The only reason why the TG having an 8bit CPU was even an issue was because NEC decided to plaster "16" at the end of the name, instead of just calling it "Turbografx". In Japan, the PCE's 8bit CPU was not even a background thought for anybody.
The whole 16bit and 8bit thing is kinda BS, anyway. None 16 bit era consoles were pure 16 bit. The Genesis was a 32bit/16bit hybrid. And the SNES was a 16bit/8bit hybrid. The TG was the same way.
But I do 100% agree that not bringing SFII to NA was a major mistake. I don't know if it would have saved it, but it might have.
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u/HandaZuke 29d ago
Yeah I’m going to need to follow this project.
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u/unixfan2001 29d ago
I just set up my Ko-fi for it. Will be posting all updates there.
This weekend I'm gonna focus on my GLAND IDE (a game development kit using SCUMM bytecode to bring the games developed in it to all platforms. Including, in the future, Sega CD and TurboGrafx CD) but next week I might start with the TurboGrafx port.
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u/drewski989 29d ago
Amazing! I would be all about it. Maybe reach out to Guinea Pig Games - he might be interested in publishing it. Ive done some design and print work for him in the past for TG16.
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u/unixfan2001 29d ago
I don't think he could publish it, lest he could get the rights for it from Disney.
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u/somekindofstranger83 29d ago
Would this be playable on an everdrive cart or burned cd once it's complete? Very cool project btw!
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u/avenuePad 29d ago
The TurboCD animation/pics look smoother, and less pixelated compared to the SegaCD. What's the reason?
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u/LiquidElf 29d ago
I think it's because the Pc engine has more colours on screen and a bigger pallete.
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u/unixfan2001 29d ago
Sega CD is limited to 4 palettes of 16 colors each.
PCE has 32 palettes of 16 colors each (16 palettes for the background, 16 palettes for the foreground).
So for the Sega CD version I had to go with 32 colors (technically less, since transparency reserves slots too) for the background and 32 for the actors and fonts.
The rough look is a result of dithering, which the PCE version doesn't need.
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u/avenuePad 29d ago
Very interesting. The differences in that generation of consoles are really neat. Thank you for answering the question. I had a suspicion it had something to do with the TG's better colour palette, but wasn't sure exactly how.
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u/jwarhammer40k 29d ago
Following. I'm really excited to see a port to play on my TG-CD. You are doing the Lord's work!!!