• Log In | Sign Up

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Top Games
  • Search
  • New Releases
  • Daily Deals
  • Forums

Adventure Gamers - Forums

Welcome to Adventure Gamers. Please Sign In or Join Now to post.

You are here: HomeForum Home → Gaming → Adventure → Thread

Post Marker Legend:

  • New Topic New posts
  • Old Topic No new posts

Currently online

Jdawg445SpeedBo

Support us, by purchasing through these affiliate links

   

Let’s play - Orion Burger

Avatar

Total Posts: 6584

Joined 2007-07-22

PM

SPOILERS AHEAD

(I like German box cover more than UK one, so there you go.)

Orion Burger is a humoristic, cartoony adventure - sadly it isn’t available on GOG or anywhere else expect Ebay, which is pretty depressing as it’s not a stinker in any way, though it has it shares of frustration that I will mention, that can seriously put people off. The name of Sanctuary Woods brings joyful memories as they’re the one who published Journeyman Project 2, and Eidos brought us the most beloved female game character ever. Let’s see what they’re up about.

Installing the game - don’t confuse “Easy” and “Advanced” with the difficulty level, because you can’t chose difficulty - this is only for a quick or custom installation. Anyway, few hours of nerve wrecking DOSBox tweaking later:

(thanks to Karlok, these are the instructions on how to start the game if you have such problems:

Get the DOS32A extender here: http://dos32a.narechk.net
Put DOS32A.EXE in the game’s installation directory, and then instead of running ORION.BAT to start the game in DOSbox, use this command instead: dos32a burger.exe -c

The game doesn’t have subtitles, and it was quite hard for me get a grasp of things, even though the intro is quite lengthy. You can read online reviews or manual for background story - two aliens, seen in the picture above, are doing “dirty” work for “Orion Burger” - intergalactic fast food chain - “mining” the “population” of approved territories and planets for meat. In order for it to be approved, the inhabitants must fail various tests of intelligence, as intelligence is highly regarded in Orion Burger world, and must be preserved. Now, our hero Wilbur is an average Earth inhabitant, and the destiny of our planet has fallen on to him to prove us worthy. If his intelligence is anywhere near the quality of voice work for him, our civilization is doomed (luckily, the alien’s voices are outstanding). Thus, Wilbur is abducted, but to bring another aspect of confusion, aliens mess things up and create a time loop - Wilbur is sent (I think) one hour prior to each of the test, so you have time to act and prepare for a test. If you die, you begin from the beginning. Very interesting game design element, but also highly frustrating - because you start all over again from the scratch - meaning you need to talk to people and collect items again. Add to that that you can not skip cutscenes or dialogue (and remember, there’re no subtitles) and the frustration grows bigger.

This is the starting screen and the town of.. Boonsville? It kind of a modern day (or at least, 90s day) town stuck in the 50s, all along with country music playing in the back. Based on the first test - the game is VERY hard, and I will glimpse to walkthrough more than once it would seem. That’s due to couple of things - you have limited time to act before the aliens abduct you to a test; If you fail the test you’re starting all over again; Did I mention there’re no subtitles?

This is the KEY location in the first act. Actually you can visit various scenes at this point in a game, like:

Smart-ass kid fishing on a bridge.

Town Hall with “Uncle Albert” figure of a Mayor. I just bought an island for 19$. I’m sure a reached a dead-end.

Your home and your aunt (all these locations and characters will come in play later, I suspect)

... to name a few, but there’s only ONE item and few actions needed in order to pass the first alien test. However, I gotta hand it to the designers - Orion Burger is both real-time (something like The Last Express, to a much lesser degree) and classic “at your own leisure” adventure, because most of the characters and objects are stationary and waiting for you to act, and quite non-linear at that, because it will let you do many things not connected to the main goal.

     

Recently finished: Four Last Things 4/5, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout 5/5, Chains of Satinav 3,95/5, A Vampyre Story 88, Sam Peters 3/5, Broken Sword 1 4,5/5, Broken Sword 2 4,3/5, Broken Sword 3 85, Broken Sword 5 81, Gray Matter 4/5\nCurrently playing: Broken Sword 4, Keepsake (Let\‘s Play), Callahan\‘s Crosstime Saloon (post-Community Playthrough)\nLooking forward to: A Playwright’s Tale

Avatar

Total Posts: 7432

Joined 2013-08-26

PM

Great initiative, diego! I had a lot of fun with Orion Burger earlier this year.

More later.

     

See you around, wolf. Nerissa

Avatar

Total Posts: 928

Joined 2009-11-10

PM

Nice, I remember renting it in the library as a kid and enjoying it quite a bit but had to resort to a walkthrough since it was too hard. Completely forgot the game since so kind of curious to try it again.

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 3200

Joined 2007-01-04

PM

Gog needs more games like this one. It’s a real classic I’d love to play.

Heart

     

I enjoy playing adventure games on my Alienware M17 r4 and my Nintendo Switch OLED.

Avatar

Total Posts: 8471

Joined 2011-10-21

PM

Cool! I’ll play along…

Oh wait, I can’t get the game anywhere.

Oh wait, “time limit”? “Start over if you fail”?? “No subtitles”???

Yeah, I’ll follow along… Tongue

     

The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka

Avatar

Total Posts: 7432

Joined 2013-08-26

PM

diego - 17 September 2020 01:07 PM

Orion Burger is a humoristic, cartoony adventure - sadly it isn’t available on GOG or anywhere else expect Ebay, which is pretty depressing as it’s not a stinker in any way, though it has it shares of frustration that I will mention, that can seriously put people off.

The time loop put me off many years ago and I also felt I wouldn’t miss much if I didn’t finish the game. To my own surprise it didn’t bother me at all when I played it this year. 

The name of Sanctuary Woods brings joyful memories as they’re the one who published Journeyman Project 2, and Eidos brought us the most beloved female game character ever.

Okay, I’ll bite. Who’s that?

Installing the game - don’t confuse “Easy” and “Advanced” with the difficulty level, because you can’t chose difficulty - this is only for a quick or custom installation. Anyway, few hours of nerve wrecking DOSBox (if you have problems starting the game, DOS32a file resolved it in my case, PM me freely for details) tweaking later:

If I can do it, anybody can. And I did it. Smile Not all copies of Orion Burger need the workaround, only the ones with the LaserLok copy protection. Like mine. I can of course still play it in DOS on my old win98 machine, but win10 is much more convenient.

Get the DOS32A extender here: http://dos32a.narechk.net
Put DOS32A.EXE in the game’s installation directory, and then instead of running ORION.BAT to start the game in DOSbox, use this command instead: dos32a burger.exe -c

Works perfectly.

Wilbur is sent (I think) one hour prior to each of the test, so you have time to act and prepare for a test.

More like twenty minutes. But time spent talking to people is not counted. 

Based on the first test - the game is VERY hard, and I will glimpse to walkthrough more than once it would seem.

I used UHS hints. The five tests have different puzzles and imo some tests are much easier than others.

     

See you around, wolf. Nerissa

Avatar

Total Posts: 8471

Joined 2011-10-21

PM

Karlok - 18 September 2020 06:02 AM

The name of Sanctuary Woods brings joyful memories as they’re the one who published Journeyman Project 2, and Eidos brought us the most beloved female game character ever.

Okay, I’ll bite. Who’s that?

Best guess: Lara Croft, Tomb Raider.

The “the most beloved female game character” statement needs an “arguably” imo.

     

The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka

Avatar

Total Posts: 6584

Joined 2007-07-22

PM

TimovieMan - 18 September 2020 03:03 AM

Cool! I’ll play along…

Oh wait, I can’t get the game anywhere.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PC-ORION-BURGER/124336292174?hash=item1cf305414e:g:yWAAAOSwUK9e51VL

Pretty cheap here.

     

Recently finished: Four Last Things 4/5, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout 5/5, Chains of Satinav 3,95/5, A Vampyre Story 88, Sam Peters 3/5, Broken Sword 1 4,5/5, Broken Sword 2 4,3/5, Broken Sword 3 85, Broken Sword 5 81, Gray Matter 4/5\nCurrently playing: Broken Sword 4, Keepsake (Let\‘s Play), Callahan\‘s Crosstime Saloon (post-Community Playthrough)\nLooking forward to: A Playwright’s Tale

Avatar

Total Posts: 6584

Joined 2007-07-22

PM

Karlok - 18 September 2020 06:02 AM

The time loop put me off many years ago and I also felt I wouldn’t miss much if I didn’t finish the game. To my own surprise it didn’t bother me at all when I played it this year.

I agree, it’s refreshing to see game element such as this from time to time. It wouldn’t bother me a bit, the time pressure, if I didn’t know that each time I “die” I will have to watch the cut scene all over again Frown I have a chess site online ready, and whenever the cutscene starts I switch to chess game. You can improvise. Smile

Karlok - 18 September 2020 06:02 AM

Okay, I’ll bite. Who’s that?

Sure, it’s Lara Croft. Smile


And thanks for the instructions on how to get the game going, I will put it in the first post. Wink

     

Recently finished: Four Last Things 4/5, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout 5/5, Chains of Satinav 3,95/5, A Vampyre Story 88, Sam Peters 3/5, Broken Sword 1 4,5/5, Broken Sword 2 4,3/5, Broken Sword 3 85, Broken Sword 5 81, Gray Matter 4/5\nCurrently playing: Broken Sword 4, Keepsake (Let\‘s Play), Callahan\‘s Crosstime Saloon (post-Community Playthrough)\nLooking forward to: A Playwright’s Tale

Avatar

Total Posts: 7432

Joined 2013-08-26

PM

diego - 19 September 2020 06:07 AM

I agree, it’s refreshing to see game element such as this from time to time. It wouldn’t bother me a bit, the time pressure, if I didn’t know that each time I “die” I will have to watch the cut scene all over again Frown I have a chess site online ready, and whenever the cutscene starts I switch to chess game. You can improvise. Smile

You mean the endless first scene? You can skip it. Now you’re going to ask me how. And I don’t remember. My bad, I know. It’s been a few months and I alwasy forget stuff like that. I’ll restart the game and see if I can find it, but it will have to wait. The Tour de France is more important right now. 

In the meantime, elsewhere… diego starts clicking around like mad.  Cool

     

See you around, wolf. Nerissa

Total Posts: 181

Joined 2005-11-15

PM

diego - 19 September 2020 06:00 AM
TimovieMan - 18 September 2020 03:03 AM

Cool! I’ll play along…

Oh wait, I can’t get the game anywhere.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PC-ORION-BURGER/124336292174?hash=item1cf305414e:g:yWAAAOSwUK9e51VL

Pretty cheap here.

My recollection, from when I looked for the game many years ago, is that the German version was both cheap and quite common. The English version… not so much. And when I finally did find one for sale (I don’t remember what it cost, but I guess it wasn’t too bad), it turned out to be one with that LaserLock copy protection Pan, so I’ve never actually gotten to play it.

So I look forward to seeing if the workaround presented here works for me, too!

Edit: It works! Thanks! And here I was half-thinking of contacting LaserLock for support. Because of course they still seem to be around, or at the very least they still have a web page…

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 7432

Joined 2013-08-26

PM

Here’s what I do when a game I bought many years ago doesn’t work in DOSbox: I go to the DOSbox site. I click on compatibility and find the game in the list. I read the comments. In the case of Orion Burger the very first comment solved my Laserlock problem. But I’m incredibly stupid when it comes to technical stuff, so I doublecheck by visiting the Vorons forum and looking for a solution there. These people know everything about getting games to work in DOSbox.

I swear it took me all of five minutes. And another five to follow the instructions.

     

See you around, wolf. Nerissa

Avatar

Total Posts: 7432

Joined 2013-08-26

PM

Diego, I restarted the game and tried to skip the very first scene. I couldn’t, but it was quite short the second time, no more dialogues etc. I guess that’s why I remembered it as skippable. So I don’t know why you’re having this problem. (The cut scenes are of course different after each test.)

     

See you around, wolf. Nerissa

Total Posts: 181

Joined 2005-11-15

PM

Karlok - 21 September 2020 04:11 AM

In the case of Orion Burger the very first comment solved my Laserlock problem. But I’m incredibly stupid when it comes to technical stuff, so I doublecheck by visiting the Vorons forum and looking for a solution there. These people know everything about getting games to work in DOSbox.

Well, you can do that now. I got the game at a time when there was still talk about adding support for Orion Burger and The Riddle of Master Lu to ScummVM (which unfortunately never came to fruition) and that would probably have been back in… 2008 or so? Back then then only advice I could find was to get a version without LaserLock, and that was easier said than done.

I’ve hardly even thought about the game since then (I never even found the time to play The Riddle of Master Lu yet!) so I didn’t see that comment from 2010 until now. Grin

 

     
Avatar

Total Posts: 7432

Joined 2013-08-26

PM

eriktorbjorn - 21 September 2020 06:44 AM

I got the game at a time when there was still talk about adding support for Orion Burger and The Riddle of Master Lu to ScummVM (which unfortunately never came to fruition) and that would probably have been back in… 2008 or so? Back then then only advice I could find was to get a version without LaserLock, and that was easier said than done.

Well, if you bought a DOS game knowing full well you couldn’t play it on your DOS-less computer but hoping you could one day, then lo and behold! One of my best game decisions ever was to keep my old win98 and win95 computers, DOS of course included. I got Orion Burger somewhere around 2006.

PS: Diego also had problems getting the game started and my comment was meant for him too. It’s one hundred percent true that I’m a technical nitwit and he isn’t, so I thought the two of you had been googling the wrong places.

     

See you around, wolf. Nerissa

Total Posts: 181

Joined 2005-11-15

PM

Karlok - 21 September 2020 07:07 AM

Well, if you bought a DOS game knowing full well you couldn’t play it on your DOS-less computer but hoping you could one day, then lo and behold! One of my best game decisions ever was to keep my old win98 and win95 computers, DOS of course included. I got Orion Burger somewhere around 2006.

I never owned a DOS or Win95/98 computer, actually. I went from a Mac Plus to Linux, so I’ve always had to rely on emulation to get most games to run. I guess I’ve always had some interest in older games (though it may be more fair to say that I never lost interest in some of the games I played when they were still fairly new Grin). But I guess what kindled my interest in the ones I hadn’t played before (because, hello, Mac Plus?!) was when I first heard about the ScummVM project and thought to myself “Hey, I’ve heard about Monkey Island but I know absolutely nothing about it!”

That would have been back when LucasArts were starting to make threatening noises towards the project so around version 0.2.0 I guess? I’m still involved with it though nowhere near as much as I used to be. Partly because of life, but also because there aren’t as many trivial bugs as there used to be.

Anyway, I’m very grateful that there are enough people mad enough (and I do mean that in the kindest possible sense) to help provide solid emulation for so many of the things I enjoyed playing as a kid and later. Without them… [insert Blade Runner “tears in rain” speech here]

And thanks for alerting me to the Orion Burger workaround! I don’t know if I’ll get around to playing it (I’m on a bit of an Infocom binge right now), but at least now I only have myself to blame if I don’t.

     

You are here: HomeForum Home → Gaming → Adventure → Thread

Welcome to the Adventure Gamers forums!

Back to the top