[ATMachine]

I've finally gotten

Spoiler:

all four of the endings detailed in Christy Marx's design notes. However, old Sierra catalogs advertise five endings, so there may be something else that I missed, which was added after she wrote that document.

Or maybe the catalogs are just lying.

Spoiler:

And it doesn't seem to have to do with whether Marian dies... the sequences with Richard pronouncing judgment are inflexible, so much so that if you are found guilty with Marian still alive, Richard will accuse Robin of killing her anyway.

I also found what I believe to be the minimum score for the whole game, although it looks more like an algebra equation than a solid number. I'll talk about that more once we get to Day 6.

[beatchef]

Four? So more than just the good and bad endings? Where are these design notes?

[ATMachine]

Originally Posted by beatchef

Where are these design notes?

Here, on Christy Marx's website. They give the outline of the game.

[beatchef]

Originally Posted by ATMachine

Here, on Christy Marx's website. They give the outline of the game and summarize the four endings.

even though I got:

Spoiler:

"But if Robin has fully lived up to his reputation as a good man, the King will not only find him and his men innocent, but will knight Robin the Earl of Huntingdon. Furthermore, he arrests the Sheriff and makes Little John the new Sheriff to see that justice is done! He makes Friar Tuck the new Abbot, to see that a genuine holy man rules the church and turns the old Abbot out to make his way as a beggar. He disbands the Monastery monks and sends the Prior into exile."

I never got that bit right at the end with:

Spoiler:

"Finally, he blesses the marriage of Robin and Marian. We end with Abbot Tuck performing the ceremony and a final kiss between the new Earl and his Lady."

I just get lots of credits that loop, and you have to just exit.

[ATMachine]

Originally Posted by beatchef

Spoiler:

I never got that bit right at the end with:
"Finally, he blesses the marriage of Robin and Marian. We end with Abbot Tuck performing the ceremony and a final kiss between the new Earl and his Lady."
I just get lots of credits that loop, and you have to just exit.

Spoiler:

Are you sure? That's interesting. How many points did you get? During one playthrough I got 5865 and still managed to marry Marian.

I'd suggest you play it again and see if you didn't miss something. If this happens a second time, you may have found the missing fifth ending.

[beatchef]

I've got a save for day 13, i'll have another go. I've had the game go into a strange loop on day 5 and 7 as well.

I got 7025ish points!

[ATMachine]

Spoiler:

Does anything happen after Richard expels the Prior and knights Robin and all that? If you didn't get the optimum ending, the Troubadour should show up and urge you to do better. Does he do that to you?

If not, I think this is just a bug.

[beatchef]

No troubador, just a looping credits...

[ATMachine]

Very, very odd.

Spoiler:

The Troubadour shows up during all the other "less good" endings. If there is absolutely nothing that happens after Richard expels the Prior except for rolling credits, I think this is a very nasty bug (possibly exclusive to Christy Marx's abandonware version).

Please attach a savegame (preferably from before the end cutscene begins) in a .zip file to your next post (click the paper-clip button as you're typing it). That way I can play your savegame and see if I get the same result.

EDIT: Very important! Please include the LONGBOWS.DIR file from your save game directory in the .zip as well, otherwise it might not work.

And what install settings are you using? I might need to know. Run INSTALL.EXE in the Longbow game directory to check.

[ATMachine]

Sorry to double post, but I suspect some of the actions below are what you may have missed score-wise:

Spoiler:

Searching the drunken Abbot (10)
Finding the Witch's Court on Day 5 (100)
Paying the Abbot's bill (20)
Paying the soldiers in full (50)
Getting your fortune told at the Fair OR Buying Marian a Scarf OR Buying her Oil (each is 25)
Selecting Tuck's plan to get the treasure (500; Will's plan gives you 400, which is 100 points less)
TOTAL 305

[beatchef]

A zip! A zip! A Robin zip!

Of those, these are the ones i've not done

Spoiler:

Searching the drunken Abbot (10)
Finding the Witch's Court on Day 5 (100)
Paying the Abbot's bill (20)
Paying the soldiers in full (50)

I've definitely done the rest.

[ATMachine]

Awesome! Thank you, sir. I shall endeavor to see what your problem is.

EDIT: I need your install settings. You should run "INSTALL.EXE" in your Longbow game directory, take a screenshot, and report to me what they are.

[ATMachine]

All right, I'm stumped. I don't know what your problem is. I got Christy Marx's version of the game, as you did, and ran your savegames in that.

Spoiler:

The scene of Marian agreeing to marry Robin and the wedding played fine, no problems.

So you should be getting the ending to run correctly. But I just don't know why you aren't.

EDIT: Maybe it has something to do with installing the SCI code patch? I know I didn't install it on the version I ran the savegames on. But then that doesn't seem to make sense, because there aren't any problems with the patch on my legal copy of Longbow.

EDIT 2: Or maybe it's caused by you not using DOSbox? I always use it to run my DOS games. Without it the game's animations and timed events go at the wrong pace.

EDIT 3: Using the SCI patch without DOSbox on Christy Marx's free version of the game, and with your savegames, I got the scene with the wedding, but the music was jerky and a line of Richard's dialogue was cut off. Taken to extremes, I can see how this speed problem could result in you not seeing all that you should see in the end.

My advice? Use DOSbox. It still may not work, though.

[After a brisk nap]

Could we keep the thread free of spoilers, please? Or at least cover them up? Tech support is better suited for the tech forum.

[ATMachine]

Sure thing. I just went back and edited my posts to cover up some of the spoilers. And I'm about out of advice anyways, so I guess we can stop talking about all the above problems now.

Anyways, Days 4 and 5. I was a bit annoyed that the encounters for the Peasant Woman on Day 1 and the Poacher on Day 4 were almost exactly the same, but it feels good to help people out.

I was laughing out loud at the end of Day 5. That was excellent, excellent writing.

Spoiler:

Another action I haven't seen mentioned that people might have missed:
Talking to the Abbot 5 times while drinking (25)


Also, EASTER EGG: Click the emerald on the horse in the wall tapestry in the Abbey dining room. Shades of Camelot, anyone?

and EASTER EGG 2: On the screen with the exterior of the Pub, click the Hand all over the top of Nottingham Castle until you find a "sweet spot." "Fetchez la vache!"

[Ariel Type]

There is also an easter egg in the Abbey. It has something to do with Larry (just look closely at the map).

[Ninth]

Originally Posted by beatchef

How did everyone do with the 9 Men's Morris? I got through in the end, but only because after about 9 strong games, the AI suddenly turned into mush and I won easily, hmmmmmmmmmm

I had no idea how to play the game, so the hard part was figuring out the rules. After that, I won at my second attempt.

[Kurufinwe]

Originally Posted by Ninth

I had no idea how to play the game, so the hard part was figuring out the rules. After that, I won at my second attempt.

RTFM.

[beatchef]

You were lucky then, cause I looked up the rules in the instruction manual, and if you play the game properly, the computer will do moves that directly block everything you do until you make a mistake and lose. If anybody makes even one mistake they're dead, so it's whether the cpu does or you do. Be ready on the savegame for a reload hehe

[After a brisk nap]

That is simply not true. Nine Men's Morris isn't like tic-tac-toe, where your every move is forced.

The way to win is to set up situations where you have two or more lines (mills) going at once, so that whichever one your opponent blocks, you'll be able to complete the other one. For instance, this is a good way to place your first three pieces (while blocking your opponent, of course):

o--------o--------o
|        |        |
|  o-----o-----o  |
|  |     |     |  |
|  |  o--o--o  |  |
|  |  |     |  |  |
o--o--*     o--o--o
|  |  |     |  |  |
|  |  o--*--o  |  |
|  |     |     |  |
|  *-----o-----o  |
|        |        |
o--------o--------o

Now, there's almost no way your opponent can stop you from getting a mill. Look at all the places you can position your fourth piece:

o--------o--------o
|        |        |
|  o-----o-----o  |
|  |     |     |  |
|  |  o--o--o  |  |
|  |  |     |  |  |
o--X--*     o--o--o
|  |  |     |  |  |
|  |  X--*--o  |  |
|  |     |     |  |
|  *-----X-----o  |
|        |        |
o--------o--------o

In either of those three positions, you'll have two lines that are only missing one piece to complete a mill. For instance:

o--------o--------o
|        |        |
|  o-----o-----o  |
|  |     |     |  |
|  |  o--o--o  |  |
|  |  |     |  |  |
o--o--*     o--o--o
|  |  |     |  |  |
|  |  o--*--o  |  |
|  |     |     |  |
|  *-----X-----O  |
|        |        |
o--------O--------o

Whichever one your opponent blocks, you'll just complete the other one.

Because your opponent is also placing pieces at the same time, cluttering the board and starting mills that you need to block, it's not quite so simple, but the game is not confined to just performing a predetermined sequence of ideal steps and hoping your opponent will mess up.