A new version of ScummVM is available to download. Described by the development team (which includes Cameron Cawley looking after ‘our’ version) as a maintenance release, version 2.9.1 of the software includes a host of bug fixes rather than new features, but as many of these affect the various engines supported by the software, it’s worth updating your copy to benefit from them.
Originally developed to make it possible to play games based on LucasArts’ Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion on machines on which the original software didn’t run, the software is a ‘Virtual Machine’ – hence the name – though it has since expanded to cover quite a number of other game engines.
Replacing the original executable provided with the games, ScummVM executes the script component to make the games playable on whatever platforms it has been released on, providing all the necessary back-end to ensure the games play as they did in their original form, or as close to it as possible.
A full list of the issues dealt with in this released can be found on the software’s website, but for example the core engine – SCUMM – has been fixed to restore the behaviour of a previous version, allowing a certain range of games to be played with an Amiga colour palette, problems have been addressed with most of the music tracks in a couple of games, a character positioning inaccuracy has been fixed, and so much more.
