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AG Community Playthrough #54: Blade Runner

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Welcome to the story of a Blade Runner playing in 3rd person perspective as cop Ray McCoy working for the LAPD in 2019.

Once you’ve started, if you think LA looks worlds apart from how you’d imagine it to be a few months from now that’s because the bleaker environments in the game are based on the grim portrayal of the future in Ridley Scott’s 1982 film of the same name.
It’s not necessary to have seen the film but the game is heavily inspired by & linked to it in that the events run concurrently to those in the film & some of the same environments in the film are impressively reproduced. Also you may in the game either hear references to some of the characters that appear in the film and/or actually meet them to find they are voiced by the same actors. (Not Harrison Ford though - he was apparently busy at the time.)

The game is self-contained story-wise but if you’re interested in its roots you may like to read this article aside from actually watching the original film.   
Film

Acquiring the game
The game is not yet available for download (legally anyway) but both Amazon & Ebay have disc versions for sale. 

Getting it to run
The game was released in 1997 & as such needs help to work on modern systems.
A lot of work has been done to try to get the game, providing you have the original discs, to work in ScummVM. So you may like to look at the thread devoted to that currently on the same page here & request help there if you have problems. 

I’m not sure if the addition of sub-titles has yet been perfected? The game could certainly do with it - the voice-acting for the most part is superb but the clarity is not so good at times. 

I think there are also some links to various patches on the ScummVM thread but you may find more by Googling. Take care but ask either on the ScummVM thread or this one if you need further help.

Interface
Couldn’t be simpler - p&c to use your left mouse button to move, interact with/talk to/pick-up - usually the cursor is either a blue or green arrow. Right mouse button equips you with your gun.

Action scenes
Yes! There are some scenarios where you need to be quite quick otherwise you die so SAVE OFTEN!
You can in theory practise your shooting skills safely in a shooting alley but actually it has been reported that the targets may not appear if you’re playing on a ‘newer’ computer. No, they didn’t appear for me either.

How we’ll proceed
Each new game is subject to random aspects to begin with & throughout before you even start playing. Choice of conversations, actions taken & overlooking evidence along with the order of carrying out tasks are just a few examples of how the player contributes to the thousands of variations that impact on their progress of the game leading to one of the reported 13 endings.

There’s no way in a CPT that we’re all going to experience exactly the same but the beauty of this game for our purposes is that it is split up into 5 distinctive acts. 
We are for the most part going to be dealing with the same people & visiting the same places within each act but the circumstances may vary. The idea is just to report back & compare. I’m crossing my fingers that this will work.

The Acts
There is no on-screen labelling in my game of when an act starts. Act 1 is not acknowledged but an auto-save will appear at the beginnings of Acts 2 - 5 on the load/save screens. As already stated you need to save frequently so should see when you’ve got to the next act. I will post a hint.

Let’s get going
As soon as you’ve played through the intro & can act within your environment i.e. outside the crime scene immediately click on McCoy & set your difficulty level:
Easy
Medium
Hard.
Press Esc to bypass the intro again.

N.B. You need money & ammo in this game but Easy means you have all the ammo & money you need & the fight scenes are easier

Now you’ve clicked on McCoy just have a good look at the OPT/KIA app.

You will on the OPT screen at the bottom see an opportunity to set your conversation ‘attitude’.
I don’t know what the designer cut one means - anyone?
If you pick the question mark it means you can choose what topics you ask about.

TASK 1
Get the game
Get it running
Choose your difficulty I.e. Easy, Medium or Hard
Choose your conversation icon
Play through the intro.
Explore outside & inside the crime-scene thoroughly. Familiarise yourself by playing around with the OPT & KIA screens. Don’t fly away just yet!

Report back by Wednesday evening with all the details! If you need longer just post.
Also have you played the game before?

To start I’m playing on Easy & I’ve got the question mark icon highlighted for user choice.
I’ve just about managed to play the game once within the last few days.

Please pin the thread.

     
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Hey guys I would love to take part of this community playthrough. I bought the game a while ago but have never had to chance to play it yet. I was busy with other games and didn’t have the chance to try and make it work on a modern PC. So this playthorough is the perfect excuse to finally get to play and experience it for the first time ! Smile

So my first question is what is the best way to make it work? I wanted to try the ScummVM option since apparently it has the option to add subtitles and they are a necessity for me!. I downloaded the development build but I’m not sure how to proceed, the instructions in the website are not too specific (for newbies like me) Do I have to install the game first and add the executable to the list in ScummVM? Where do I copy the game files? I tried copying them to a folder but nothing shows in ScummVM so am I supposed to install it first?

     
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danigar - 14 July 2019 03:25 PM

Hey guys I would love to take part of this community playthrough. I bought the game a while ago but have never had to chance to play it yet. I was busy with other games and didn’t have the chance to try and make it work on a modern PC. So this playthorough is the perfect excuse to finally get to play and experience it for the first time ! Smile

So my first question is what is the best way to make it work? I wanted to try the ScummVM option since apparently it has the option to add subtitles and they are a necessity for me!. I downloaded the development build but I’m not sure how to proceed, the instructions in the website are not too specific (for newbies like me) Do I have to install the game first and add the executable to the list in ScummVM? Where do I copy the game files? I tried copying them to a folder but nothing shows in ScummVM so am I supposed to install it first?

Welcome danigar, I hope you don’t mind but I’m going to copy & paste your thread over to the more dedicated ScummVM thread (I haven’t got a clue!) I don’t think the subtitle option is available just yet?

     
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Great! Gonna start tomorrow. I pretty much always select user choice.

And the designer’s cut is basically for those who want to play the game more than once. I guess to speed up the game a bit. It cuts certain less important dialogues. Stuff that isn’t important for the story. So I wouldn’t recommend it.

     
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Up and running. I have made it to the current checkpoint also.

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

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I don’t own the game but was hoping to participate.. until I found the game can’t be bought online. Aside from the fact that I don’t own a working CD-ROM drive (and really, who does in 2019?) the process of ordering, waiting for it to arrive etc feels antiquated in this day.

Oh well. Apparently this is a classic game so GOG and Steam really haven’t done their job here. I’ll play it when they decide to do so.

     
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I had tried to get the game to run before the previous CPT but was only half successful because of stuttering sound.

The ScummVM method has the game up and running without a hitch, and with subtitles!!! Cool

So, after years of having owned the discs, I’ll finally be able to play them.




Luhr28 - 14 July 2019 11:35 PM

I don’t own the game but was hoping to participate.. until I found the game can’t be bought online. Aside from the fact that I don’t own a working CD-ROM drive (and really, who does in 2019?) the process of ordering, waiting for it to arrive etc feels antiquated in this day.

Backwards compatibility is important! I had a working 8” floppy drive until 1998, a working 3 1/2” floppy drive until 2009, and with the amount of games I still have on disk, I’ll likely have a working CD/DVD drive for many years to come.

Besides, external DVD drives are only 20-25$.

Oh well. Apparently this is a classic game so GOG and Steam really haven’t done their job here. I’ll play it when they decide to do so.

Apparently, the source code was lost years ago, so re-releasing or making a HD remaster became impossible.
The only alternative was getting the game to run with the known disc files, which proved *very* difficult. It’s only now that ScummVM got the game running (and it’s actually still in dev).

The rights for the game are owned by EA, so if EA didn’t bother to look into getting the game playable on either GOG or Steam, that’s EA‘s fault, not GOG or Steam’s, imo. Tongue


chrissie - 14 July 2019 03:08 PM

TASK 1
Get the game
Get it running

Done!

Choose your difficulty I.e. Easy, Medium or Hard

I’m going with “easy”. Am I correct in assuming this *only* has an impact on money management and action sequence difficulty?

Choose your conversation icon

Why would anyone NOT pick the question mark??? Gasp

Play through the intro.

Done!
*Excellent* transition from the opening cutscene to the actual gameplay!
It was so smooth it took me a few seconds to realize I had regained control. Had started to wonder why Ray had stopped walking first… Tongue

Explore outside & inside the crime-scene thoroughly. Familiarise yourself by playing around with the OPT & KIA screens. Don’t fly away just yet!

Still have to explore a bit. I really just wanted the game up and running first.

Also have you played the game before?

I have never played the game before, despite owning the discs for quite a few years now, and being a big fan of the original film which I’ve seen in at least three different versions. Heck, even the sequel was great, so this is a universe I’m quite eager to spend some time in!
Not in the least because I can then finally cross this game off my “Backlog of Shame”. Grin Innocent

     

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

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Just ordered a copy off ebay, hopefully it arrives on time! Grin

TimovieMan - 15 July 2019 04:17 AM

Choose your conversation icon

Why would anyone NOT pick the question mark??? Gasp

I guess its for someone who wants a more streamlined experience without having to worry about picking dialogue options, it sounds like something I’d maybe try out for a second playthrough.

 

     

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chrissie - 14 July 2019 03:08 PM

I’m not sure if the addition of sub-titles has yet been perfected? The game could certainly do with it - the voice-acting for the most part is superb but the clarity is not so good at times.

Hello!
The ScummVM subtitles (only English ones for the moment) are considered final. We welcome feedback of course to improve them (I’m already aware of two typos), but they should cover the entire game and have been through quite a few iterations of polishing.

chrissie - 14 July 2019 03:08 PM

Action scenes
Yes! There are some scenarios where you need to be quite quick otherwise you die so SAVE OFTEN!

Agreed. Definitely save often. I can’t stress this enough Smile Not only because you may die in some of the action sequences, but because you might want to try different outcomes later on.

chrissie - 14 July 2019 03:08 PM

TASK 1
Get the game
Get it running
Choose your difficulty I.e. Easy, Medium or Hard
Choose your conversation icon
Play through the intro.
Explore outside & inside the crime-scene thoroughly. Familiarise yourself by playing around with the OPT & KIA screens. Don’t fly away just yet!

I’m going to go with “Normal” difficulty, and User Choice for the dialogue options.
No “Designer’s Cut” because, as mentioned above, all it does is remove some of the dialogue. (It is also a feature that seems not be thoroughly implemented from the developers, maybe due to time constraints, because it mostly affects stuff in Act 1).
Currently playing through the intro.

chrissie - 14 July 2019 03:08 PM

Also have you played the game before?

I’ve played through the game multiple times, and am currently also an active developer for the ScummVM support of its engine. So, I could offer more info (when asked) about certain mechanics or options, but I’ll try not to bore you with those details otherwise.

     
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TimovieMan - 15 July 2019 04:17 AM

I had tried to get the game to run before the previous CPT but was only half successful because of stuttering sound.

The ScummVM method has the game up and running without a hitch, and with subtitles!!! Cool

So, after years of having owned the discs, I’ll finally be able to play them.

Thumbs Up

I’m going with “easy”. Am I correct in assuming this *only* has an impact on money management and action sequence difficulty?

As far as I can tell - hopefully a Blade Runner vet can confirm.  Smile
You also have unlimited ammo.

I have never played the game before, despite owning the discs for quite a few years now, and being a big fan of the original film which I’ve seen in at least three different versions. Heck, even the sequel was great, so this is a universe I’m quite eager to spend some time in!

I watched Blade Runner The Final Cut last night & as it was such long time ago I first watched it I was recognising locations from the game rather than the other way round when playing the game. It made me realise the attention to detail given in the game.

Mikekelly - 14 July 2019 08:22 PM

Up and running. I have made it to the current checkpoint also.

What difficulty level have you decided upon? Also conversation choice?
Smile

Karmillo - 15 July 2019 05:50 AM

Just ordered a copy off ebay, hopefully it arrives on time! Grin

If you haven’t got to the checkpoint by Wednesday the plan is to play the remainder of the 1st act (which is not that long) by Sunday so hopefully you will be able to catch-up. If not the time to complete the 1st act can be extended. 
Smile

I’ve just seen your post stroggoff. Thank you for your help so far & think your expertise is going to be invaluable!  Thumbs Up

     

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chrissie - 15 July 2019 07:13 AM
TimovieMan - 15 July 2019 04:17 AM

I’m going with “easy”. Am I correct in assuming this *only* has an impact on money management and action sequence difficulty?

As far as I can tell - hopefully a Blade Runner vet can confirm.  Smile
You also have unlimited ammo.

Easy is unlimited ammo, infinite money, easier combat(less mouse jitter when McCoy is shooting at a target/enemy, less health for enemies, less damage taken for McCoy) and a couple of clues are offered easier than in the other modes (like McCoy will make a deduction faster).

Normal and Hard both have unlimited standard ammo (but limited otherwise) and settings for combat are harder.

In Hard mode specifically, a couple of (non-combat-action) encounters with other actors will be “harder” to resolve than in the other two modes.

     
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up and running.

and as for the conversation modes they don’t matter in the mean of finishing the game, or processing, but it is fun to change them from time to time and see Mccoy different attitude thru dialogues.

remember thru combats (especially against androids) you have the choice of reholstering your weapon and let them go.. this is very important to know.

     
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Running the game in ScummVM works flawlessly for me so far. I find the addition of subtitles the most valuable part. Great work, stroggoff and everyone else involved! Excellent to even have someone involved in the project joining the play-through. I look forward to reading some insights.

I am playing the game with my girlfriend and none of us have played the game before.

We selected the Easy difficulty level since we are not interested in mastering any action elements or resource management. Too bad if some puzzles also becomes less challenging though. We picked User Choice for the dialog option.

I think we have explored everything that can be done before leaving the crime scene, so we have reached the first stopping point.

     
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Wait, Blade Runner is set in 2019?! LOL, talk about the perfect timing for this playthrough. Smile

P.S. So, what is the difference between difficulty modes?

     

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

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Right, got the game running through scumm, I always pick user choice and this time i chose hard mode.

Did everything there is to do at the crime scene so I’m ready to get back into my spinner Smile

And yes I’ve played the game like a million times since its release. It was the game that really got me into adventure games, hence my username lol. I think I’ve seen all the endings by now but I could never quite figure out what I’m doing when I VK someone. I just click random buttons. Always a good idea to save your game before you VK anyone if you want conclusive results every time.

Will be pretty interesting to see what path everyone takes and what endings we all get at the end Smile Haven’t decided yet which ending I’ll be gunning for lol

     
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Easy difficulty, and User Choice.

I am running the game on an OLD laptop. I keep a few of these around for times like this.

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

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