14 ms·

ScummVM on the App Store

262 points by galapago 3y ago

m463 3y ago
hmmm I suspect this is because it is GPLv2 which doesn't require the freedom to RUN the program (which apple doesn't give you) apple seems to ship software with gplv2 (old bash, etc) but no GPLv3 software. ...even though they are technically in violation of the GPL by modifying and shipping bash binaries without full source - it is missing rootless.h (not the X11 file)
- rafram 3y ago
  GPLv3’s anti-Tivoization clause specifically targets software bundled with a device, which this is not. There’s plenty of GPLv3 software distributed by its developers on the App Store and nothing in the text of the GPL forbids distribution in a proprietary marketplace.
  - gunapologist99 3y ago
    In that case, I wonder why Google is so highly allergic to GPLv3 in its GCP marketplace.
    - jraph 3y ago
      Is it GPLv3 or AGPL? Their reasons (their excuses? At this point I'm not convinced at all) to ban AGPL are documented at [1]. [1] https://opensource.google/documentation/reference/using/agpl-policy https://opensource.google/documentation/reference/using/agpl...
      - orangecat 3y ago
        What doesn't make sense? They don't want AGPL code to accidentally end up anywhere that's publicly accessible, and a lot of the code in their monolith is used across many different products, so a blanket ban seems entirely reasonable. What motivation do you think they have to lie about this?
        jraph 3y ago
        Not speaking about code, they ban use of AGPL software. This does not make sense to me. Software you use does not magically [1] end up in your code base, or you are doing something horribly wrong, I can't even begin to imagine how. Like, "Whoops, I downloaded and executed this AGPL-licensed binary, and now this Google process running on my laptop (or phone!) has automatically fetched its source code and put it to prod and linked it to our software, and now oh no, all our code are belong to GNU!". This is ridiculous. This is some massive, solid bullshit we have here. You can use AGPL software for any purpose within the law, no strings attached. You never need to touch the code, and if you do, you never need to link your product to it. It does not take a lawyer to understand this simple concept. Proprietary software have more restrictions than that, you'd better not have third party proprietary code ending up in your product, although it's not banned at Google. I hope they do check license compliance on their code base anyway, there are automatic scanners for this. So the chances of some AGPL code ending in their repositories seem vanishingly small. As for why Google would be dishonest, of course we have no proof and we can't know for sure AFAIK. By default I side with Drew DeVault [2], to me this is anti-AGPL propaganda and their goal is to discourage people from licensing their software under AGPL so they have a bigger pool of open source projects they can potentially reuse without having to contribute back, and it works because now people are afraid to license their stuff under AGPL because "businesses" "often" have an AGPL ban. I know of exactly two companies banning AGPL: Google and Apple. Apple already did that with GPLv3 (AGPLv3 being GPLv3 + a clause). Again, does please the big company (and come on, outdated bash and GNU tools on Mac does not make any kind of sense, the GPL never restricted stuff at the process level interface). I'm sure there are smaller businesses thinking that if Google and Apple ban those licenses, they must be bad and they should do too to be safe, while not having a business model where it even makes sense, playing Google and Apple's game. If I'm to license software under AGPL, I'm giving Google the right to use this software. That they don't want to use it is their loss. They are doing this to themselves. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_thinking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_thinking [2] https://drewdevault.com/2020/07/27/Anti-AGPL-propaganda.html https://drewdevault.com/2020/07/27/Anti-AGPL-propaganda.html > they want to discourage people from using the AGPL, because they cannot productize such software effectively [...] > By discouraging the use of AGPL in the broader community, Google hopes to create a larger set of free- and open-source software that they can take for their own needs without any obligations to upstream
  - m463 3y ago
    hmmm. I thought that software loaded on an apple device is DRM'd, meaning it cannot be installed or run without an apple id (basically you must ask apple permission to run the program). GPLv2 didn't prevent this, but I thought GPLv3 conferred additional rights to the user. I remember RMS saying, "I realized I had to explicitly say the freedom to RUN the program" I believe about revising GPLv2 to GPLv3
- jraph 3y ago
  > GPLv2 which doesn't require the freedom to RUN the program It does. This is the first freedom of free software. I'm not sure the issues with distributing GPL software on the App store are specific to the GPLv3. I don't fully understand things on this, but [1] seems to be a good entry point. > apple seems to ship software with gplv2 (old bash, etc) but no GPLv3 software. This is an Apple policy / a choice that they make. They could decide to distribute GPLv3 software with Mac legally, but chose not to. > by modifying and shipping bash binaries without full source - it is missing rootless.h (not the X11 file) I would be interested in knowing more about this. I'm surprised they've not been already sued if they violate bash's license. [1] https://opensource.stackexchange.com/questions/9500/is-apple-allowed-to-distribute-gplv3-licensed-software-through-its-ios-app-store https://opensource.stackexchange.com/questions/9500/is-apple...
  - saagarjha 3y ago
    Sued by whom? The bash people seem like they have better things to do than sue Apple.
    - jraph 3y ago
      The Free Software Foundation. Bash is part of the GNU project. As a consequence, I believe contributors assign their copyright to the FSF. I downloaded a random release of bash 3 (3.0.16) and opened a random C file from it and it is indeed "Copyright (C) 1993-2004 Free Software Foundation, Inc." I appreciate that individual developers might not have the time & energy to engage in a lawsuit against Apple, but the FSF is bigger, and has all the incentive to be firm with the terms of the GPL licenses for the licenses to look strong. Developers can also certainly request help from the Software Freedom Conservancy [1] or the Software Freedom Law Center [2] (which has helped BusyBox win several lawsuits) for this kind of stuff. Apparently the SFLC has helped the FSF in the past, against Cisco, if I'm to believe [2]. [1] https://sfconservancy.org/ https://sfconservancy.org/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_Freedom_Law_Center https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_Freedom_Law_Center
    - shagie 3y ago
      shagie@Mac-Pro ~ % bash --version GNU bash, version 3.2.57(1)-release (x86_64-apple-darwin23) Copyright (C) 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc. I will note that is an interesting date as version 3 of the GPL was released on 29 June 2007 -- https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/bash/ https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/bash/ has version 3.2.57. Opening up the 'COPYING' file from that distribution: GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2, June 1991 Copyright (C) 1989, 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc. 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this license document, but changing it is not allowed. Apple is scrupulous at ensuring that they only distribute GPL Version 2 software, if at all (they've made efforts to switch to using BSD licensed software wherever possible). There's no reason for bash people or FSF to sue Apple as they are strictly following the license.
- xmodem 3y ago
  It's been a hot minute since I had to dig into the code Apple publishes for anything and since then they seem to have moved it all to Github. I don't have my mac handy to try building it, but I don't see any references to a rootless.h in the code they're publishing. I'm curious to know a bit more about what's missing.
  - saagarjha 3y ago
    They inlined the code here: https://github.com/apple-oss-distributions/bash/commit/9817a9670495eb01c195f7f24e459db192c5111d https://github.com/apple-oss-distributions/bash/commit/9817a...
    - Turing_Machine 3y ago
      That would be perfectly legal under the GPL, right? It doesn't say you're not allowed to modify the code, just that you have to distribute the modified code in its entirety. If what Apple is distributing is sufficient to build (their version of) bash, it's perfectly fine.
      - saagarjha 3y ago
        If the code is what Apple used to build what they're distributing, then yes this is valid. (For this case at least, they have a tendency of doing this a lot and I suspect the change to bash was made just to address this specific complaint while missing every other place they strip out code.)
        m463 3y ago
        I tried to rebuild bash a while back on macos and couldn't do it because the source code was not available for rootless.h. I guess someones complaint finally got some action from apple. I remember doing macos kernel debugging (in the non-gpl code apple distributes) and it was pretty evident that the code they distribute like xnu is NOT the code that is in the OS. Stack traces had lots of functions apple keeps to itself. Looking in the distributed code shows suspicious blank lines where automated tools must remove apple-only source.
- turquoisevar 3y ago
  > ...even though they are technically in violation of the GPL by modifying and shipping bash binaries without full source - it is missing rootless.h (not the X11 file) They're not. They've covered this in two main ways: 1) By listing all their source code on https://opensource.apple.com/ https://opensource.apple.com/ (which links to their GitHub with all the source code) 2) By offering a complete machine-readable copy of the source code upon request as per GPLv2 (3)(b). This offer is made both in the license agreement[0] you agree to when booting up your Mac for the first time, updating it, etc., as well as in an Acknowledgements.rtf[1] file that is located on your drive at multiple locations (e.g., /Library/Documentation) and linked to from within certain apps (e.g., about section, acknowledgment section under Help, EULA agreement prompt, etc.). That covers the bash part. rootless.h isn't part of bash and is part of libSystem.dylib, so that would fall under the OS exception in GPLv2[2]: > However, as a special exception, the source code distributed need not include anything that is normally distributed (in either source or binary form) with the major components (compiler, kernel, and so on) of the operating system on which the executable runs, unless that component itself accompanies the executable. That said, it probably won't be long before they stop shipping bash altogether, they've already switched to Zsh a while ago and seem to have moved to a "bring your own tool" philosophy for anything they don't support by default (see Python removal and future Ruby and Perl removal notice). 0: https://www.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/macOSSonoma.pdf https://www.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/macOSSonoma.pdf (see §15) 1: https://opensource.apple.com/source/files/files-553/Library/Documentation/Acknowledgements.rtf https://opensource.apple.com/source/files/files-553/Library/... 2: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.en.html https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.en.html
Ecco 3y ago
Curious as to why it took so long. Anybody around knows?
- peddling-brink 3y ago
  I’m surprised it’s allowed at all. To my knowledge, Apple has never allowed general purpose virtualization software.
  - madmoose 3y ago
    There's no general purpose virtualization involved in ScummVM. It's a collection of game engines derived mostly from reverse engineering old games.
    - peddling-brink 3y ago
      Oh, well I stand corrected.
- amlib 3y ago
  Isn't Apple very restrictive about apps that allow running arbitrary code like emulators? I'm also a bit perplexed, unless they have changed their policy recently.
  - dangus 3y ago
    I wonder if it was determined that the code isn’t arbitrary, and nothing is being emulated. It’s more like a content engine. Perhaps ScummVM is closer in concept to something like Super Mario Maker than to a full blown programming environment. You could argue that the custom content is “code” but it’s more like a limited set of actions accompanied with content.
  - lxgr 3y ago
    That ship has long sailed. There’s an x86 Linux user space emulator capable of running unmodified Alpine Linux, a shell running WASM/WASI binaries… It seems like the current bar is something like “can it plausibly run something other than pirated Nintendo ROMs”.
adrianN 3y ago
Is there a place where I can legally obtain images to run on the vm?
- sspiff 3y ago
  Steam. I bought a ton of these on Steam and just copied the data files over to my sons tablet. Works perfectly, including localisation.
  - toasteros 3y ago
    To add to this, the commercially available versions of the first two Monkey Island games are not ScummVM compatible without some hackery. The games are perfectly playable, indeed, but a lot of people don't have much fondness for the visual style choices. Luckily, the original game data files are included in the homogeneous .pak files for the games, and Monkey Island Explorer[0] can unpack them. For both games the files are MONKEY.000 and MONKEY.001 (MONKEY2.00{0,1} for Monkey 2) and the explorer program can filter for file types making it easy. Just unpack them, add to ScummVM and away you go. Caveat is that these are the CD versions of the games. The Secret of Monkey Island was actually "remastered" previously! The colour palette is altered slightly and the UI includes an updated inventory, with images instead of just words for items. The stump joke is removed, too (partly due to the LucasArts hintline getting calls about a missing disk #131!). Monkey Island Ultimate Talkie Edition[1] is another project that can extract the data from the Special Editions, as well as the music and voice files. The resulting build is compatible with ScummVM, meaning you can play the original games with the updated audio. [0]: https://quickandeasysoftware.net/software/monkey-island-explorer https://quickandeasysoftware.net/software/monkey-island-expl... [1]: http://gratissaugen.de/ultimatetalkies/monkey1.html http://gratissaugen.de/ultimatetalkies/monkey1.html
  - sebazzz 3y ago
    The kids are playing Freddy Fish and Pyjama Sam on the iPad right now. Good stuff! There is just no modern equivalent of these games that let's kids puzzle like this!
- Zetobal 3y ago
sspiff 3y ago
Interesting. My 5 year old sons favourite app on his Android tablet is ScummVM. I bought all the Putt Putt, Freddy Fish, and Spy Fox games on Steam, and after copying the data files over to ScummVM on Android, my son has been enjoying them a lot. I'd much prefer him spending his time with these rather than these toxic mobile games that target young kids with repetitive loops locked behind countdown timers and in app purchases.
- hedora 3y ago
  Those games are infinitely better than anything I could find in the app store, and the whole collection was (is?) $50.
  - jurgenkesker 3y ago
    Currently around that price indeed on Steam Sale, and lower if you only look for Spy Fox bundle or Put Put or whatever you want. Very nice.
- BSDobelix 3y ago
  And in 5 years when your for example on a long roadtrip you can buy him "The Longest journey" (don't forget the HD patches https://tljhd.github.io/ https://tljhd.github.io/)
- whazor 3y ago
  They are also sold as games on the App Store, but I think they use an older version of ScummVM and it was really broken for us. I am hoping some more iOS improvements/fixes could be done. These games are amazing (still are very funny to my 4yo!). I would like to see a bigger touch area and proper touch dragging support. While I also think they don't make games like these anymore nowadays. Please comment below with examples to proof us wrong.
- joshstrange 3y ago
  I replayed all the Spy Fox games on my steam deck a few months ago, so much fun. Point and click isn’t great on the deck but it was manageable and the nostalgia made up for it.
anotherhue 3y ago
First person to write a browser that can run under Scumm wins an EU prize.
- aspenmayer 3y ago
  You could probably run lynx under iSH.app
bossyTeacher 3y ago
What is the appeal with games that are this old? Is the audience people that played them in their childhood? I struggle to see kids (who are used to super colourful, hyper interactive, animated games) play GBC games let alone something like this. Any ideas?
- ethbr1 3y ago
  Plot. Story. Humor. Thinking.
  - bmacho 3y ago
    Visuals. Music. Challenge.
- unixhero 3y ago
  Story, charm, fun
- kemayo 3y ago
  A lot of the audience probably is the nostalgic. But also, there's quite a few genuinely good games in there, and also some very foundational ones. The tendency towards cartoony graphics and a plot/humor focus means that in some ways they've aged a lot better than other games from a similar era. In a way it's like asking why people read old fashioned novels, even though they're out of step with modern language and culture.
- alberth 3y ago
  It’s the same reason why Nintendo does so well relative to PS/XBox. It doesn’t have to be all about high-end graphics. Plot, game play, fun is what’s most important for a large segment of gamers.
  - bossyTeacher 3y ago
    Does that mean that you would be happy to pay a premium (think PS5 prices) to play new games that are in that format?
- 3y ago
ethbr1 3y ago
For those who don't recognize Scumm (since it's getting pretty old now...), it was an adventure game engine. Widely used for classic Lucasfilm Games/LucasArts titles. (edit fixed! See below comment) Here's the list of supported games: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Category:Supported_Games https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Category:Supported_... If you're looking for recommendations... - Zork (the OG, and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Zork https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Zork - Beneath a Steel Sky: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Beneath_a_Steel_Sky https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Beneath_a_Steel_Sky - Blade Runner: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Blade_Runner https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Blade_Runner - The Castle of Dr. Brain (and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Castle_of_Dr._Brain https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Castle_of_Dr._Brain - Maniac Mansion / Day of the Tentacle: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Maniac_Mansion https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Maniac_Mansion https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Day_of_the_Tentacle https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Day_of_the_Tentacle - The Dig: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=The_Dig https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=The_Dig - Full Throttle: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Full_Throttle https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Full_Throttle - Gabriel Knight (and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Gabriel_Knight https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Gabriel_Knight - Grim Fandango: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Grim_Fandango https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Grim_Fandango - Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Indiana_Jones_and_the_Fate_of_Atlantis https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Indiana_Jones_and_t... - Kings Quest (and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=King%27s_Quest https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=King%27s_Quest - Leather Goddesses from Phobos (and sequel): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Leather_Goddesses_of_Phobos https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Leather_Goddesses_o... - Leisure Suit Larry (and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Leisure_Suit_Larry https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Leisure_Suit_Larry - The Longest Journey: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=The_Longest_Journey https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=The_Longest_Journey - Police Quest (and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Police_Quest https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Police_Quest - Riven: The Sequel to Myst: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Riven:_The_Sequel_to_Myst https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Riven:_The_Sequel_t... - Sam and Max Hit the Road: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Sam_%26_Max_Hit_the_Road https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Sam_%26_Max_Hit_the... - The Secret of Monkey Island (and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=The_Secret_of_Monkey_Island https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=The_Secret_of_Monke... - Space Quest: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Space_Quest https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Space_Quest - Syberia: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Syberia https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Syberia
unixhero 3y ago
There is also Dreamm https://aarongiles.com/dreamm/ https://aarongiles.com/dreamm/
- toasteros 3y ago
  DREAMM is a pretty significant project, and differs from ScummVM in a few ways. Primarily, ScummVM is an engine rewrite. They write new code that copies the behaviour of the original games. Aaron Giles worked at LucasArts and was instrumental in porting SCUMM to Windows (for Full Throttle and Curse of Monkey Island). DREAMM is a full x86 emulator that takes the original game code and runs it directly.[0] Amusingly enough, I guess that makes DREAMM more of a virtual machine than ScummVM is. [0]: https://aarongiles.com/dreamm/docs/v21/#faq-scummvm https://aarongiles.com/dreamm/docs/v21/#faq-scummvm
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - nottorp 3y ago
    Oh, that one does x-wing and dark forces, nice! On the other hand it only does LucasArts games so you need both DREAMM and ScummVM.
awill 3y ago
This is fantastic. I consider iOS far superior in so many ways over Android. Except that it is locked down so much. If iOS becomes more open, there will be nearly no reason to get an Android.
- loloquwowndueo 3y ago
  Downloadable or installable game content is hardly any indication that iOS is about to become more open. Plenty of other apps do that.
- asylteltine 3y ago
  Locked downness is a non issue coming from a previous android fanboy. iOS is just superior in every way. No I don’t care that you can change some font on your android phone.
  - wavemode 3y ago
    Can you specify some examples of how "iOS is just superior in every way"?
    - asylteltine 3y ago
      Smoothness Security Updates for even ancient phones Massively integrated ecosystem Higher quality apps, even googles own Best hardware
      - awill 3y ago
        Agree with all of this. Apps are so much better on iOS. I have been on Android since the G1, but switched to iPhone with the 14 Pro Max. Here were the apps I switched to using when moving over to iOS. I consider every switch superior on iOS vs what I was using on Android. JuiceSSH: ShellFish OneTracker: Parcel Smart AudioBook Player: Prologue Plex client: Infuse is superior to Plex and direct-plays everything MX Player: Infuse replaces MX Player for local playback too Plex Dash: Varys (Plex Dash is also available on iOS, but Varys is superior) Embiggen: Big Markor: 1Writer RealCalc: RPN 30 Overdrop: Apple Weather Shredder Chess: Hiarcs & Shredder Chess. SwiftScan: ScanPro (I use this to scan work receipts) Todo app - Things (and Superlist)
tempodox 3y ago
Yum, must get this for my iPad. I'm curious to see what games cam be installed with it.
toasteros 3y ago
ScummVM 2.8.0 is a pretty big release overall, with the App Store release just being the icing on the cake. The full notes are pretty long![0] The list of supported games has grown a lot. ScummVM is capable of running the Adibou series now, as well as the first Might & Magic game and Muppet Treasure Island! A hefty review of the Broken Sword engine has also restored a lot of small missing features. If you have even a passing interest in classic adventure games, you owe it to yourself to check it out. [0]: https://downloads.scummvm.org/frs/scummvm/2.8.0/ReleaseNotes.html https://downloads.scummvm.org/frs/scummvm/2.8.0/ReleaseNotes...
- galapago 3y ago
  There is another HN thread to discuss that release here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38816506 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38816506
  - Forge36 3y ago
    The comments have been moved to this thread now.
mig39 3y ago
unfortunately it doesn't work on Apple Silicon Macs (opens then crashes). Is it available as a Mac version?
- throwaway5959 3y ago
  Yes just go to the SCUMMVM site.
wronglebowski 3y ago
How’d this get past app review? Apple has allowed zero emulators of any type on the App Store. I bet this gets crushed.
- DaiPlusPlus 3y ago
  Well... it's not an "emulator", I suppose - it's an execution-engine.
- kmeisthax 3y ago
  Apple is very weird with how they interpret that part of their rules. iSH is allowed but not iDOS, etc.
  - KMnO4 3y ago
    iSH has compiled the binaries for arm64 so they actually run natively. When they do a syscall to malloc they are actually doing a syscall to malloc. iDOS is interpreting the bytecode and wrapping the unavailable things with its own implementation. When a DOS application runs malloc, the memory is assigned by iDOS instead. I’m not saying Apple is consistent, but your example doesn’t show that well.
    - jmah 3y ago
      Though it doesn't invalidate the gist of your saying, malloc is a user-space function not a syscall. (Its implementation will occasionally do a syscall, such as to sbrk or vmmap.)
    - basique 3y ago
      Isn't iSH literally an x86 emulator?
      - doctorpangloss 3y ago
        Yeah I mean, people think it’s a legal or engineering issue. If an App Store Editor (aka category manager) likes you, you will do alright.
pimlottc 3y ago
Is there a way to load games directly on mobile without using a cloud storage provider? There a bunch of freely downloaded games on the ScummVM page here [0]. I can download a zip file in mobile but I can’t figure out how to get it into the app. 0: https://www.scummvm.org/games/ https://www.scummvm.org/games/
- pimlottc 3y ago
  Ah, figured it out: 1. In mobile Safari, tap the file to download and tap ok 2. When it’s finished, tap the blue circle with a down arrow next to the address bar to open downloads 3. Tap the file you just downloaded to switch to the Files app 4. In the Files app, tap the zip file you just downloaded to uncompress it 5. Tap and hold the directory and select “Move” 6. Navigate to or search for the “ScummVM” folder 7. Tap “Move” in the upper right hand corner Now the game should show up in the file browser within ScummVM to be added 1. In the ScummVM launcher, tap “Add Game” 2. Select the folder and tap “Choose”
johnwalkr 3y ago
This reminded me of the fact that excellent remasters of monkey island were released on the iPhone (and a few other paltforms) but were removed from the App Store after a few years. It’s a shame, they had great new artwork and sound/music but you could switch back and forth with the old art and it was cool to see the difference in each scene.
- CharlesW 3y ago
  Sadly, the developer never updated them for compatibility with 64-bit-only versions of iOS (iOS 11+).
  - DennisL123 3y ago
    Happy to sign all the necessary NDAs and to port them to 64 bit, newer iOS versions and devices for free.
    - smoldesu 3y ago
      If they got depreciated once, it's gonna happen again. Apple should invest in Microsoft-tier backwards compatibility if they want to avoid publishers abandoning their software.
      - FirmwareBurner 3y ago
        That was never Apple's thing. Apple always changes things as it pleases and expects the developers to suck it up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeqPrUmVz-o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeqPrUmVz-o
        smoldesu 3y ago
        Maybe they should look into it then, asking developers if you can update their codebase on HN probably won't help users very much.
        turquoisevar 3y ago
dang 3y ago
Related: ScummVM - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33701378 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33701378 - Nov 2022 (2 comments) ScummVM 2.5 “Twenty years ago today” - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28812403 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28812403 - Oct 2021 (43 comments) ScummVM “Interactive Fantasy” 2.2.0 Sees the Light - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24619533 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24619533 - Sept 2020 (52 comments) ScummVM 2.1.0 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21231840 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21231840 - Oct 2019 (38 comments) ScummVM 2.0 released - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15946692 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15946692 - Dec 2017 (31 comments) ScummVM ported to HTML5 - play old games in your browser - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5861429 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5861429 - June 2013 (34 comments) Maniac Tentacle Mindbenders: ScummVM's unpaid coders keep adventure gaming alive - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3508909 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3508909 - Jan 2012 (7 comments) GPL, ScummVM and violations - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2108237 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2108237 - Jan 2011 (11 comments) Atari violates the ScummVM's license - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=675418 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=675418 - June 2009 (11 comments)
debacle 3y ago
"ScummVM is a program which allows you to run certain classic graphical adventure and role-playing games, provided you already have their data files. The clever part about this: ScummVM just replaces the executables shipped with the games, allowing you to play them on systems for which they were never designed! ScummVM is a complete rewrite of these games' executables and is not an emulator. ScummVM supports an extensive library of over 325 adventure games, including classic titles from iconic studios such as LucasArts, Sierra On-Line, Revolution Software, Cyan, Inc. and Westwood Studios. Alongside groundbreaking games like the Monkey Island series, Broken Sword, Myst, Blade Runner and numerous well-known titles, you can experience truly obscure adventures and discover hidden gems." For those (like me) who didn't know what ScummVM was. https://www.scummvm.org/compatibility/ https://www.scummvm.org/compatibility/
macco 3y ago
Some Free Software projects are simply to good to be true. ScummVM is one of them. I remember fondly replaying Monkey Island on my Linux machine thanks to it.
riffraff 3y ago
IIRC, some time ago I purchased The Secret of Monkey Island from GOG, and discovered it actually packages ScummVM. I wonder if they "give back" to the community somehow.
- galapago 3y ago
  Not any more: https://www.scummvm.org/news/20231206/ https://www.scummvm.org/news/20231206/
av3csr 3y ago
Been playing Might and Magic IV & V (Worlds of Xeen) on ScummVM lately, probably the best way to play them.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
turquoisevar 3y ago
Many people need more clarification about how this passed App Review, and some are bringing up 2.5.2 of the guidelines. This doesn't meet the 2.5.2 prohibition for reasons explained elsewhere[0], and it shows a misunderstanding about which guidelines prevent commonly desired emulators. Emulators are generally barred mainly under the intellectual property guidelines[1] in §5.2 because most emulators require copyrighted bios files to run. Some other emulators were yanked after a DMCA request, and again, others were yanked because they were disguised as other apps. ScummVM doesn't suffer from these issues at face value, but their more significant problem is that they're licensed under GPLv3, and Apple has an unofficial policy of not allowing GPL(v3) on the App Store thanks to a gambit the FSF[2] tried to pull that blew up in their face. They tried to force Apple to change their App Store terms by submitting an app licensed under GPL, then turned around and complained that Apple’s App Store doesn’t comply with the GPL license because it does not distribute the app without DRM and other restrictions. Apple’s response was to remove the app and adopt a silent policy of not allowing GPL apps (and other apps with a license that collides with the App Store ToS and license). 0: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38826426 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38826426 1: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#intellectual-property https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#int... 2: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/more-about-the-app-store-gpl-enforcement https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/more-about-the-app-store...

262 points by galapago 3y ago

m463 3y ago

hmmm I suspect this is because it is GPLv2 which doesn't require the freedom to RUN the program (which apple doesn't give you) apple seems to ship software with gplv2 (old bash, etc) but no GPLv3 software. ...even though they are technically in violation of the GPL by modifying and shipping bash binaries without full source - it is missing rootless.h (not the X11 file)

rafram 3y ago
GPLv3’s anti-Tivoization clause specifically targets software bundled with a device, which this is not. There’s plenty of GPLv3 software distributed by its developers on the App Store and nothing in the text of the GPL forbids distribution in a proprietary marketplace.
- gunapologist99 3y ago
  In that case, I wonder why Google is so highly allergic to GPLv3 in its GCP marketplace.
  - jraph 3y ago
    Is it GPLv3 or AGPL? Their reasons (their excuses? At this point I'm not convinced at all) to ban AGPL are documented at [1]. [1] https://opensource.google/documentation/reference/using/agpl-policy https://opensource.google/documentation/reference/using/agpl...
    - orangecat 3y ago
      What doesn't make sense? They don't want AGPL code to accidentally end up anywhere that's publicly accessible, and a lot of the code in their monolith is used across many different products, so a blanket ban seems entirely reasonable. What motivation do you think they have to lie about this?
      - jraph 3y ago
        Not speaking about code, they ban use of AGPL software. This does not make sense to me. Software you use does not magically [1] end up in your code base, or you are doing something horribly wrong, I can't even begin to imagine how. Like, "Whoops, I downloaded and executed this AGPL-licensed binary, and now this Google process running on my laptop (or phone!) has automatically fetched its source code and put it to prod and linked it to our software, and now oh no, all our code are belong to GNU!". This is ridiculous. This is some massive, solid bullshit we have here. You can use AGPL software for any purpose within the law, no strings attached. You never need to touch the code, and if you do, you never need to link your product to it. It does not take a lawyer to understand this simple concept. Proprietary software have more restrictions than that, you'd better not have third party proprietary code ending up in your product, although it's not banned at Google. I hope they do check license compliance on their code base anyway, there are automatic scanners for this. So the chances of some AGPL code ending in their repositories seem vanishingly small. As for why Google would be dishonest, of course we have no proof and we can't know for sure AFAIK. By default I side with Drew DeVault [2], to me this is anti-AGPL propaganda and their goal is to discourage people from licensing their software under AGPL so they have a bigger pool of open source projects they can potentially reuse without having to contribute back, and it works because now people are afraid to license their stuff under AGPL because "businesses" "often" have an AGPL ban. I know of exactly two companies banning AGPL: Google and Apple. Apple already did that with GPLv3 (AGPLv3 being GPLv3 + a clause). Again, does please the big company (and come on, outdated bash and GNU tools on Mac does not make any kind of sense, the GPL never restricted stuff at the process level interface). I'm sure there are smaller businesses thinking that if Google and Apple ban those licenses, they must be bad and they should do too to be safe, while not having a business model where it even makes sense, playing Google and Apple's game. If I'm to license software under AGPL, I'm giving Google the right to use this software. That they don't want to use it is their loss. They are doing this to themselves. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_thinking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_thinking [2] https://drewdevault.com/2020/07/27/Anti-AGPL-propaganda.html https://drewdevault.com/2020/07/27/Anti-AGPL-propaganda.html > they want to discourage people from using the AGPL, because they cannot productize such software effectively [...] > By discouraging the use of AGPL in the broader community, Google hopes to create a larger set of free- and open-source software that they can take for their own needs without any obligations to upstream
- m463 3y ago
  hmmm. I thought that software loaded on an apple device is DRM'd, meaning it cannot be installed or run without an apple id (basically you must ask apple permission to run the program). GPLv2 didn't prevent this, but I thought GPLv3 conferred additional rights to the user. I remember RMS saying, "I realized I had to explicitly say the freedom to RUN the program" I believe about revising GPLv2 to GPLv3
jraph 3y ago
> GPLv2 which doesn't require the freedom to RUN the program It does. This is the first freedom of free software. I'm not sure the issues with distributing GPL software on the App store are specific to the GPLv3. I don't fully understand things on this, but [1] seems to be a good entry point. > apple seems to ship software with gplv2 (old bash, etc) but no GPLv3 software. This is an Apple policy / a choice that they make. They could decide to distribute GPLv3 software with Mac legally, but chose not to. > by modifying and shipping bash binaries without full source - it is missing rootless.h (not the X11 file) I would be interested in knowing more about this. I'm surprised they've not been already sued if they violate bash's license. [1] https://opensource.stackexchange.com/questions/9500/is-apple-allowed-to-distribute-gplv3-licensed-software-through-its-ios-app-store https://opensource.stackexchange.com/questions/9500/is-apple...
- saagarjha 3y ago
  Sued by whom? The bash people seem like they have better things to do than sue Apple.
  - jraph 3y ago
    The Free Software Foundation. Bash is part of the GNU project. As a consequence, I believe contributors assign their copyright to the FSF. I downloaded a random release of bash 3 (3.0.16) and opened a random C file from it and it is indeed "Copyright (C) 1993-2004 Free Software Foundation, Inc." I appreciate that individual developers might not have the time & energy to engage in a lawsuit against Apple, but the FSF is bigger, and has all the incentive to be firm with the terms of the GPL licenses for the licenses to look strong. Developers can also certainly request help from the Software Freedom Conservancy [1] or the Software Freedom Law Center [2] (which has helped BusyBox win several lawsuits) for this kind of stuff. Apparently the SFLC has helped the FSF in the past, against Cisco, if I'm to believe [2]. [1] https://sfconservancy.org/ https://sfconservancy.org/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_Freedom_Law_Center https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_Freedom_Law_Center
  - shagie 3y ago
    shagie@Mac-Pro ~ % bash --version GNU bash, version 3.2.57(1)-release (x86_64-apple-darwin23) Copyright (C) 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc. I will note that is an interesting date as version 3 of the GPL was released on 29 June 2007 -- https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/bash/ https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/bash/ has version 3.2.57. Opening up the 'COPYING' file from that distribution: GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2, June 1991 Copyright (C) 1989, 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc. 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this license document, but changing it is not allowed. Apple is scrupulous at ensuring that they only distribute GPL Version 2 software, if at all (they've made efforts to switch to using BSD licensed software wherever possible). There's no reason for bash people or FSF to sue Apple as they are strictly following the license.
xmodem 3y ago
It's been a hot minute since I had to dig into the code Apple publishes for anything and since then they seem to have moved it all to Github. I don't have my mac handy to try building it, but I don't see any references to a rootless.h in the code they're publishing. I'm curious to know a bit more about what's missing.
- saagarjha 3y ago
  They inlined the code here: https://github.com/apple-oss-distributions/bash/commit/9817a9670495eb01c195f7f24e459db192c5111d https://github.com/apple-oss-distributions/bash/commit/9817a...
  - Turing_Machine 3y ago
    That would be perfectly legal under the GPL, right? It doesn't say you're not allowed to modify the code, just that you have to distribute the modified code in its entirety. If what Apple is distributing is sufficient to build (their version of) bash, it's perfectly fine.
    - saagarjha 3y ago
      If the code is what Apple used to build what they're distributing, then yes this is valid. (For this case at least, they have a tendency of doing this a lot and I suspect the change to bash was made just to address this specific complaint while missing every other place they strip out code.)
      - m463 3y ago
        I tried to rebuild bash a while back on macos and couldn't do it because the source code was not available for rootless.h. I guess someones complaint finally got some action from apple. I remember doing macos kernel debugging (in the non-gpl code apple distributes) and it was pretty evident that the code they distribute like xnu is NOT the code that is in the OS. Stack traces had lots of functions apple keeps to itself. Looking in the distributed code shows suspicious blank lines where automated tools must remove apple-only source.
turquoisevar 3y ago
> ...even though they are technically in violation of the GPL by modifying and shipping bash binaries without full source - it is missing rootless.h (not the X11 file) They're not. They've covered this in two main ways: 1) By listing all their source code on https://opensource.apple.com/ https://opensource.apple.com/ (which links to their GitHub with all the source code) 2) By offering a complete machine-readable copy of the source code upon request as per GPLv2 (3)(b). This offer is made both in the license agreement[0] you agree to when booting up your Mac for the first time, updating it, etc., as well as in an Acknowledgements.rtf[1] file that is located on your drive at multiple locations (e.g., /Library/Documentation) and linked to from within certain apps (e.g., about section, acknowledgment section under Help, EULA agreement prompt, etc.). That covers the bash part. rootless.h isn't part of bash and is part of libSystem.dylib, so that would fall under the OS exception in GPLv2[2]: > However, as a special exception, the source code distributed need not include anything that is normally distributed (in either source or binary form) with the major components (compiler, kernel, and so on) of the operating system on which the executable runs, unless that component itself accompanies the executable. That said, it probably won't be long before they stop shipping bash altogether, they've already switched to Zsh a while ago and seem to have moved to a "bring your own tool" philosophy for anything they don't support by default (see Python removal and future Ruby and Perl removal notice). 0: https://www.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/macOSSonoma.pdf https://www.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/macOSSonoma.pdf (see §15) 1: https://opensource.apple.com/source/files/files-553/Library/Documentation/Acknowledgements.rtf https://opensource.apple.com/source/files/files-553/Library/... 2: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.en.html https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.en.html

Ecco 3y ago

Curious as to why it took so long. Anybody around knows?

peddling-brink 3y ago
I’m surprised it’s allowed at all. To my knowledge, Apple has never allowed general purpose virtualization software.
- madmoose 3y ago
  There's no general purpose virtualization involved in ScummVM. It's a collection of game engines derived mostly from reverse engineering old games.
  - peddling-brink 3y ago
    Oh, well I stand corrected.
amlib 3y ago
Isn't Apple very restrictive about apps that allow running arbitrary code like emulators? I'm also a bit perplexed, unless they have changed their policy recently.
- dangus 3y ago
  I wonder if it was determined that the code isn’t arbitrary, and nothing is being emulated. It’s more like a content engine. Perhaps ScummVM is closer in concept to something like Super Mario Maker than to a full blown programming environment. You could argue that the custom content is “code” but it’s more like a limited set of actions accompanied with content.
- lxgr 3y ago
  That ship has long sailed. There’s an x86 Linux user space emulator capable of running unmodified Alpine Linux, a shell running WASM/WASI binaries… It seems like the current bar is something like “can it plausibly run something other than pirated Nintendo ROMs”.

adrianN 3y ago

Is there a place where I can legally obtain images to run on the vm?

sspiff 3y ago
Steam. I bought a ton of these on Steam and just copied the data files over to my sons tablet. Works perfectly, including localisation.
- toasteros 3y ago
  To add to this, the commercially available versions of the first two Monkey Island games are not ScummVM compatible without some hackery. The games are perfectly playable, indeed, but a lot of people don't have much fondness for the visual style choices. Luckily, the original game data files are included in the homogeneous .pak files for the games, and Monkey Island Explorer[0] can unpack them. For both games the files are MONKEY.000 and MONKEY.001 (MONKEY2.00{0,1} for Monkey 2) and the explorer program can filter for file types making it easy. Just unpack them, add to ScummVM and away you go. Caveat is that these are the CD versions of the games. The Secret of Monkey Island was actually "remastered" previously! The colour palette is altered slightly and the UI includes an updated inventory, with images instead of just words for items. The stump joke is removed, too (partly due to the LucasArts hintline getting calls about a missing disk #131!). Monkey Island Ultimate Talkie Edition[1] is another project that can extract the data from the Special Editions, as well as the music and voice files. The resulting build is compatible with ScummVM, meaning you can play the original games with the updated audio. [0]: https://quickandeasysoftware.net/software/monkey-island-explorer https://quickandeasysoftware.net/software/monkey-island-expl... [1]: http://gratissaugen.de/ultimatetalkies/monkey1.html http://gratissaugen.de/ultimatetalkies/monkey1.html
- sebazzz 3y ago
  The kids are playing Freddy Fish and Pyjama Sam on the iPad right now. Good stuff! There is just no modern equivalent of these games that let's kids puzzle like this!
Zetobal 3y ago

sspiff 3y ago

Interesting. My 5 year old sons favourite app on his Android tablet is ScummVM. I bought all the Putt Putt, Freddy Fish, and Spy Fox games on Steam, and after copying the data files over to ScummVM on Android, my son has been enjoying them a lot. I'd much prefer him spending his time with these rather than these toxic mobile games that target young kids with repetitive loops locked behind countdown timers and in app purchases.

hedora 3y ago
Those games are infinitely better than anything I could find in the app store, and the whole collection was (is?) $50.
- jurgenkesker 3y ago
  Currently around that price indeed on Steam Sale, and lower if you only look for Spy Fox bundle or Put Put or whatever you want. Very nice.
BSDobelix 3y ago
And in 5 years when your for example on a long roadtrip you can buy him "The Longest journey" (don't forget the HD patches https://tljhd.github.io/ https://tljhd.github.io/)
whazor 3y ago
They are also sold as games on the App Store, but I think they use an older version of ScummVM and it was really broken for us. I am hoping some more iOS improvements/fixes could be done. These games are amazing (still are very funny to my 4yo!). I would like to see a bigger touch area and proper touch dragging support. While I also think they don't make games like these anymore nowadays. Please comment below with examples to proof us wrong.
joshstrange 3y ago
I replayed all the Spy Fox games on my steam deck a few months ago, so much fun. Point and click isn’t great on the deck but it was manageable and the nostalgia made up for it.

anotherhue 3y ago

First person to write a browser that can run under Scumm wins an EU prize.

aspenmayer 3y ago
You could probably run lynx under iSH.app

bossyTeacher 3y ago

What is the appeal with games that are this old? Is the audience people that played them in their childhood? I struggle to see kids (who are used to super colourful, hyper interactive, animated games) play GBC games let alone something like this. Any ideas?

ethbr1 3y ago
Plot. Story. Humor. Thinking.
- bmacho 3y ago
  Visuals. Music. Challenge.
unixhero 3y ago
Story, charm, fun
kemayo 3y ago
A lot of the audience probably is the nostalgic. But also, there's quite a few genuinely good games in there, and also some very foundational ones. The tendency towards cartoony graphics and a plot/humor focus means that in some ways they've aged a lot better than other games from a similar era. In a way it's like asking why people read old fashioned novels, even though they're out of step with modern language and culture.
alberth 3y ago
It’s the same reason why Nintendo does so well relative to PS/XBox. It doesn’t have to be all about high-end graphics. Plot, game play, fun is what’s most important for a large segment of gamers.
- bossyTeacher 3y ago
  Does that mean that you would be happy to pay a premium (think PS5 prices) to play new games that are in that format?
3y ago

ethbr1 3y ago

For those who don't recognize Scumm (since it's getting pretty old now...), it was an adventure game engine. Widely used for classic Lucasfilm Games/LucasArts titles. (edit fixed! See below comment) Here's the list of supported games: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Category:Supported_Games https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Category:Supported_... If you're looking for recommendations... - Zork (the OG, and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Zork https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Zork - Beneath a Steel Sky: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Beneath_a_Steel_Sky https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Beneath_a_Steel_Sky - Blade Runner: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Blade_Runner https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Blade_Runner - The Castle of Dr. Brain (and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Castle_of_Dr._Brain https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Castle_of_Dr._Brain - Maniac Mansion / Day of the Tentacle: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Maniac_Mansion https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Maniac_Mansion https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Day_of_the_Tentacle https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Day_of_the_Tentacle - The Dig: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=The_Dig https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=The_Dig - Full Throttle: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Full_Throttle https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Full_Throttle - Gabriel Knight (and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Gabriel_Knight https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Gabriel_Knight - Grim Fandango: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Grim_Fandango https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Grim_Fandango - Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Indiana_Jones_and_the_Fate_of_Atlantis https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Indiana_Jones_and_t... - Kings Quest (and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=King%27s_Quest https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=King%27s_Quest - Leather Goddesses from Phobos (and sequel): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Leather_Goddesses_of_Phobos https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Leather_Goddesses_o... - Leisure Suit Larry (and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Leisure_Suit_Larry https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Leisure_Suit_Larry - The Longest Journey: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=The_Longest_Journey https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=The_Longest_Journey - Police Quest (and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Police_Quest https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Police_Quest - Riven: The Sequel to Myst: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Riven:_The_Sequel_to_Myst https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Riven:_The_Sequel_t... - Sam and Max Hit the Road: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Sam_%26_Max_Hit_the_Road https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Sam_%26_Max_Hit_the... - The Secret of Monkey Island (and sequels): https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=The_Secret_of_Monkey_Island https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=The_Secret_of_Monke... - Space Quest: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Space_Quest https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Space_Quest - Syberia: https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Syberia https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Syberia

unixhero 3y ago

There is also Dreamm https://aarongiles.com/dreamm/ https://aarongiles.com/dreamm/

toasteros 3y ago
DREAMM is a pretty significant project, and differs from ScummVM in a few ways. Primarily, ScummVM is an engine rewrite. They write new code that copies the behaviour of the original games. Aaron Giles worked at LucasArts and was instrumental in porting SCUMM to Windows (for Full Throttle and Curse of Monkey Island). DREAMM is a full x86 emulator that takes the original game code and runs it directly.[0] Amusingly enough, I guess that makes DREAMM more of a virtual machine than ScummVM is. [0]: https://aarongiles.com/dreamm/docs/v21/#faq-scummvm https://aarongiles.com/dreamm/docs/v21/#faq-scummvm
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- nottorp 3y ago
  Oh, that one does x-wing and dark forces, nice! On the other hand it only does LucasArts games so you need both DREAMM and ScummVM.

awill 3y ago

This is fantastic. I consider iOS far superior in so many ways over Android. Except that it is locked down so much. If iOS becomes more open, there will be nearly no reason to get an Android.

loloquwowndueo 3y ago
Downloadable or installable game content is hardly any indication that iOS is about to become more open. Plenty of other apps do that.
asylteltine 3y ago
Locked downness is a non issue coming from a previous android fanboy. iOS is just superior in every way. No I don’t care that you can change some font on your android phone.
- wavemode 3y ago
  Can you specify some examples of how "iOS is just superior in every way"?
  - asylteltine 3y ago
    Smoothness Security Updates for even ancient phones Massively integrated ecosystem Higher quality apps, even googles own Best hardware
    - awill 3y ago
      Agree with all of this. Apps are so much better on iOS. I have been on Android since the G1, but switched to iPhone with the 14 Pro Max. Here were the apps I switched to using when moving over to iOS. I consider every switch superior on iOS vs what I was using on Android. JuiceSSH: ShellFish OneTracker: Parcel Smart AudioBook Player: Prologue Plex client: Infuse is superior to Plex and direct-plays everything MX Player: Infuse replaces MX Player for local playback too Plex Dash: Varys (Plex Dash is also available on iOS, but Varys is superior) Embiggen: Big Markor: 1Writer RealCalc: RPN 30 Overdrop: Apple Weather Shredder Chess: Hiarcs & Shredder Chess. SwiftScan: ScanPro (I use this to scan work receipts) Todo app - Things (and Superlist)

tempodox 3y ago

Yum, must get this for my iPad. I'm curious to see what games cam be installed with it.

toasteros 3y ago

ScummVM 2.8.0 is a pretty big release overall, with the App Store release just being the icing on the cake. The full notes are pretty long![0] The list of supported games has grown a lot. ScummVM is capable of running the Adibou series now, as well as the first Might & Magic game and Muppet Treasure Island! A hefty review of the Broken Sword engine has also restored a lot of small missing features. If you have even a passing interest in classic adventure games, you owe it to yourself to check it out. [0]: https://downloads.scummvm.org/frs/scummvm/2.8.0/ReleaseNotes.html https://downloads.scummvm.org/frs/scummvm/2.8.0/ReleaseNotes...

galapago 3y ago
There is another HN thread to discuss that release here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38816506 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38816506
- Forge36 3y ago
  The comments have been moved to this thread now.

mig39 3y ago

unfortunately it doesn't work on Apple Silicon Macs (opens then crashes). Is it available as a Mac version?

throwaway5959 3y ago
Yes just go to the SCUMMVM site.

wronglebowski 3y ago

How’d this get past app review? Apple has allowed zero emulators of any type on the App Store. I bet this gets crushed.

DaiPlusPlus 3y ago
Well... it's not an "emulator", I suppose - it's an execution-engine.
kmeisthax 3y ago
Apple is very weird with how they interpret that part of their rules. iSH is allowed but not iDOS, etc.
- KMnO4 3y ago
  iSH has compiled the binaries for arm64 so they actually run natively. When they do a syscall to malloc they are actually doing a syscall to malloc. iDOS is interpreting the bytecode and wrapping the unavailable things with its own implementation. When a DOS application runs malloc, the memory is assigned by iDOS instead. I’m not saying Apple is consistent, but your example doesn’t show that well.
  - jmah 3y ago
    Though it doesn't invalidate the gist of your saying, malloc is a user-space function not a syscall. (Its implementation will occasionally do a syscall, such as to sbrk or vmmap.)
  - basique 3y ago
    Isn't iSH literally an x86 emulator?
    - doctorpangloss 3y ago
      Yeah I mean, people think it’s a legal or engineering issue. If an App Store Editor (aka category manager) likes you, you will do alright.

pimlottc 3y ago

Is there a way to load games directly on mobile without using a cloud storage provider? There a bunch of freely downloaded games on the ScummVM page here [0]. I can download a zip file in mobile but I can’t figure out how to get it into the app. 0: https://www.scummvm.org/games/ https://www.scummvm.org/games/

pimlottc 3y ago
Ah, figured it out: 1. In mobile Safari, tap the file to download and tap ok 2. When it’s finished, tap the blue circle with a down arrow next to the address bar to open downloads 3. Tap the file you just downloaded to switch to the Files app 4. In the Files app, tap the zip file you just downloaded to uncompress it 5. Tap and hold the directory and select “Move” 6. Navigate to or search for the “ScummVM” folder 7. Tap “Move” in the upper right hand corner Now the game should show up in the file browser within ScummVM to be added 1. In the ScummVM launcher, tap “Add Game” 2. Select the folder and tap “Choose”

johnwalkr 3y ago

This reminded me of the fact that excellent remasters of monkey island were released on the iPhone (and a few other paltforms) but were removed from the App Store after a few years. It’s a shame, they had great new artwork and sound/music but you could switch back and forth with the old art and it was cool to see the difference in each scene.

CharlesW 3y ago
Sadly, the developer never updated them for compatibility with 64-bit-only versions of iOS (iOS 11+).
- DennisL123 3y ago
  Happy to sign all the necessary NDAs and to port them to 64 bit, newer iOS versions and devices for free.
  - smoldesu 3y ago
    If they got depreciated once, it's gonna happen again. Apple should invest in Microsoft-tier backwards compatibility if they want to avoid publishers abandoning their software.
    - FirmwareBurner 3y ago
      That was never Apple's thing. Apple always changes things as it pleases and expects the developers to suck it up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeqPrUmVz-o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeqPrUmVz-o
      - smoldesu 3y ago
        Maybe they should look into it then, asking developers if you can update their codebase on HN probably won't help users very much.
      - turquoisevar 3y ago

dang 3y ago

Related: ScummVM - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33701378 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33701378 - Nov 2022 (2 comments) ScummVM 2.5 “Twenty years ago today” - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28812403 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28812403 - Oct 2021 (43 comments) ScummVM “Interactive Fantasy” 2.2.0 Sees the Light - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24619533 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24619533 - Sept 2020 (52 comments) ScummVM 2.1.0 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21231840 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21231840 - Oct 2019 (38 comments) ScummVM 2.0 released - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15946692 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15946692 - Dec 2017 (31 comments) ScummVM ported to HTML5 - play old games in your browser - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5861429 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5861429 - June 2013 (34 comments) Maniac Tentacle Mindbenders: ScummVM's unpaid coders keep adventure gaming alive - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3508909 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3508909 - Jan 2012 (7 comments) GPL, ScummVM and violations - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2108237 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2108237 - Jan 2011 (11 comments) Atari violates the ScummVM's license - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=675418 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=675418 - June 2009 (11 comments)

debacle 3y ago

"ScummVM is a program which allows you to run certain classic graphical adventure and role-playing games, provided you already have their data files. The clever part about this: ScummVM just replaces the executables shipped with the games, allowing you to play them on systems for which they were never designed! ScummVM is a complete rewrite of these games' executables and is not an emulator. ScummVM supports an extensive library of over 325 adventure games, including classic titles from iconic studios such as LucasArts, Sierra On-Line, Revolution Software, Cyan, Inc. and Westwood Studios. Alongside groundbreaking games like the Monkey Island series, Broken Sword, Myst, Blade Runner and numerous well-known titles, you can experience truly obscure adventures and discover hidden gems." For those (like me) who didn't know what ScummVM was. https://www.scummvm.org/compatibility/ https://www.scummvm.org/compatibility/

macco 3y ago

Some Free Software projects are simply to good to be true. ScummVM is one of them. I remember fondly replaying Monkey Island on my Linux machine thanks to it.

riffraff 3y ago

IIRC, some time ago I purchased The Secret of Monkey Island from GOG, and discovered it actually packages ScummVM. I wonder if they "give back" to the community somehow.

galapago 3y ago
Not any more: https://www.scummvm.org/news/20231206/ https://www.scummvm.org/news/20231206/

av3csr 3y ago

Been playing Might and Magic IV & V (Worlds of Xeen) on ScummVM lately, probably the best way to play them.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

turquoisevar 3y ago

Many people need more clarification about how this passed App Review, and some are bringing up 2.5.2 of the guidelines. This doesn't meet the 2.5.2 prohibition for reasons explained elsewhere[0], and it shows a misunderstanding about which guidelines prevent commonly desired emulators. Emulators are generally barred mainly under the intellectual property guidelines[1] in §5.2 because most emulators require copyrighted bios files to run. Some other emulators were yanked after a DMCA request, and again, others were yanked because they were disguised as other apps. ScummVM doesn't suffer from these issues at face value, but their more significant problem is that they're licensed under GPLv3, and Apple has an unofficial policy of not allowing GPL(v3) on the App Store thanks to a gambit the FSF[2] tried to pull that blew up in their face. They tried to force Apple to change their App Store terms by submitting an app licensed under GPL, then turned around and complained that Apple’s App Store doesn’t comply with the GPL license because it does not distribute the app without DRM and other restrictions. Apple’s response was to remove the app and adopt a silent policy of not allowing GPL apps (and other apps with a license that collides with the App Store ToS and license). 0: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38826426 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38826426 1: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#intellectual-property https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#int... 2: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/more-about-the-app-store-gpl-enforcement https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/more-about-the-app-store...