QFG4 speech not working

Message

jpnuar1 · #1 Post by **jpnuar1** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 3:46 am

My copy of the QFG anthology CD is not in the best condition. It'll install and run the games ok, but many of the voices in QFG4 no longer work, and if I try to listen to them, the game freezes trying to read them from the CD. Now normally, I would just turn off the voices and continue the game, but I want to hear the guys in the inn, and it seems that the (largest) scratch just happens to cover almost all their lines, which means I can only get their text, which of course isn't nearly as funny.

So my question is: is there anyway to download the lines from the internet or somewhere, and store them off a disk, and still listen to them in the game?

Or what options do I have to get normal speech throughout the game?

Quest For Glory Fan · #2 Post by **Quest For Glory Fan** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 5:03 am

my Anthology disk doesn't even play 4 anymore...not that it ever did unless I ran it on my old laptop that I was supposed to be using in class ;) Even then I was stricken down, vanquished, and urinated on by Error 52 so that game has never been played thoroughly by QFGFan. However my older brother played it when I was just a tot of about 6 years old and he's always hated me because the scientists door stumped him (the simon puzzle) and I snuck on his computer beat it saved and didn't tell him about it.

I do wish I could remember what Jennifer Hale sounded like as a vampire seeing as how my favorite movies consist of Interview With A Vampire (1996) and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2001) and Jennifer Hale is one of my favorite Voice actors rivaled only by Cam Clarke and maybe Quinton Flynn.

#3 Post by **Erpy** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 6:28 am

We don't advocate the practice of downloading that stuff, but the file in question is resource.aud and it's over 400 MB big.

I believe it's definitely possible to play the game with voices entirely from the hard disk, as long as you change some stuff in the resource.cfg-file.

jpnuar1 · #4 Post by **jpnuar1** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 7:01 am

Erpy wrote:We don't advocate the practice of downloading that stuff, but the file in question is resource.aud and it's over 400 MB big.

I believe it's definitely possible to play the game with voices entirely from the hard disk, as long as you change some stuff in the resource.cfg-file.

I don't suppose you can think of any other method I can get normal sound then, can you?

And just to clarify, my copy of the CD is perfectly legal and such, but has a few scratches on it, at least one of which is large enough to prevent the reading of most of the lines in the game...

Da_elf · #5 Post by **Da_elf** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 2:13 pm

actually i think that as long as you own something, then having a copy of it "for backup purposes" is a totally legal thing.

Ghost_Rider · #6 Post by **Ghost_Rider** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 9:56 pm

jpnuar1,

Do you have access to a CD burner? One thing you could try to do is make a copy of your QFG4 CD.

Try copying all of the files off of the CD to a folder on your hard drive. Once copied, insert your blank CD and then burn all of the files in that folder to the CD. You should then have an exact copy of your QFG4 CD, without the scratches (which is the whole point of this).

Alternatively, you may be able to burn the files directly if you have both a CD-ROM and a CD-Burner. It just may mess up because of the scratches when you try to do a direct copy, that's why I'd suggest you copy the files.

I hope this helps!

Angelus3K · #7 Post by **Angelus3K** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 10:36 pm

If the scratch is that bad then no method of copying will make it work, simply copying the file from the CD wont help as it wont be able to read the file due to the scratch which is what happens during installation/gameplay.

jpnuar1 · #8 Post by **jpnuar1** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 10:46 pm

Angelus3K wrote:If the scratch is that bad then no method of copying will make it work, simply copying the file from the CD wont help as it wont be able to read the file due to the scratch which is what happens during installation/gameplay.

^^^^What he said....

But on a slightly riskier note, would it be possible for anyone here (preferably in the states) be able to make a copy of their (unscratched) CD, and give me the copy? I'd be willing to pay any shipping costs, and I can provide evidence (in photo form) of my ownership of the (scratched) CD, if anyone needs it....

#9 Post by **navynuke04** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 12:11 am

We are starting to get into a gray area here... I'd prefer we not discuss making copies of games and mailing them around. I do realize you legally own the game, but it is still a gray area having someone make a copy of their game and giving it to you.

Ghost_Rider · #10 Post by **Ghost_Rider** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 12:26 am

Angelus3K wrote:If the scratch is that bad then no method of copying will make it work, simply copying the file from the CD wont help as it wont be able to read the file due to the scratch which is what happens during installation/gameplay.

That is quite possible. However, I have had scratches on game discs before that prevented me from playing them - and I was able to copy all of the files off of the disc. Sometimes being able to extract files and save a copy is not the same as having the PC accessing the file while game play is in progress. So you never know until you try copying all of the files. I still think it's worth a try if you have not already done so.

Pidgeot · #11 Post by **Pidgeot** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 12:29 am

Out of curiosity, have you tried toothpaste? It can in many cases be used to fix scratches and the like.

#12 Post by **navynuke04** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 12:32 am

I'm pretty sure that's the first I've heard of that... Is it anything like using a magnet to repair your harddrive?

jpnuar1 · #13 Post by **jpnuar1** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 12:56 am

navynuke04 wrote:We are starting to get into a gray area here... I'd prefer we not discuss making copies of games and mailing them around. I do realize you legally own the game, but it is still a gray area having someone make a copy of their game and giving it to you.

I figured it would be a tricky area to get into. But then, I can't really think of any alternatives........ Again, any help would be appreciated.

And while I'm fixing it with toothpaste, how about if I burn my scratched cd onto a blank one by stacking it with a blank CD, and holding a match to them? lol

Edit: Hmm.... how about if I mail someone my scratched cd, then they try to make a copy of that? Then, as they realize the scratched cd wont copy, they instead make a copy of their own, then mail both (mine and the copy) back to me? I realize that this falls into the same category as before, but I figured that it might be (by the smallest margin) less.....evil.
Please forgive me for pursuing this, but then, I would really like to be able to get normal voices in my game...

Pidgeot · #14 Post by **Pidgeot** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 1:01 am

No - unlike the magnet, this one really does work

. But if you got it working this way, you'd probably want to make a backup copy, just to be on the safe side - there shouldn't be any problems, but you never know.

All you need to do is take a tiny amount of plain, white toothpaste (not a gel-like toothpaste) on your finger, and gently apply it to the entire CD. When done, rub it off with a soft, clean cloth (or similar), wiping from the inside and out.

I believe it works by "sanding" the CD down to make the scratches smaller. This is possible because there is a relatively thick protective polycarbonate layer on top of the data layer. The idea is to make the existing scratch small enough so that the player isn't confused. Therefore, repeated treatments may be needed.

As an alternative, there are devices available specifically for such a purpose - they might be easier to use, but they're also more expensive than a tube of toothpaste.