Space Quest I: Roger Wilco in the Sarien Encounter (SCI)

Space Quest I: Roger Wilco in the Sarien Encounter (aka as Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter, Space Quest VGA, or Space Quest I VGA) is the VGA remake of Space Quest: The Sarien Encounter (aka "The Original Space Quest: The Sarien Encounter") developed and published by Sierra On-Line in 1991. It is the common release of the SQ1SCI in several Space Quest Collections (the other SCI releases included the rare Space Quest I: Roger Wilco in the Sarien Encounter EGA version based on the VGA version, and a 32-color Amiga version).

General Information
Space Quest I was given an overhaul in 1991 when it was remade using Sierra's new SCI language, which allowed the game to upgrade from its original EGA graphics to VGA. This version was released on August 20th, 1991, and in addition to the swanky-new VGA graphics, drawn deliberately in a 50's B-movie style, it now featured digitized sounds and an icon interface.

Several of the puzzles from the original game were changed or replaced with new solutions.

Fans are sharply divided between which version of the game they prefer: many prefer the rich graphical layout of the 1991 remake, while others enjoy the historical purity of the original.

The escape pod's warp had different effect than the released VGA version.

Easter Eggs

 * Use the TONGUE icon on the purple spiral above the doorway Roger walks out of after acquiring the Sarien uniform on the Deltaur. A Latex Babe runs across the screen with a messed-up color palette.
 * Press the "DO NOT TOUCH" button in the escape pod and Roger will be transported to the Robin Hood: Conquests of the Longbow universe. Of course, he will die.

Trivia

 * When Roger leaves Ulence Flats on his newly-purchased spaceship (north lot of Tiny's), the time pod arrives in the same location where Roger just left (just in time to encounter the mugger whose ship was just stolen by Roger). In Space Quest IV, the timepod actually arrives to the northeast of Tiny's, just north of the bar. The mugger is not around.
 * In addition in SQ4 it's suggested that the timepod returned to SQ1 era some time after SQ1, enough time for many of the businesses to have gone out of business or bankrupt.
 * As for visual and narrative continuity SQ4 takes Roger back to AGI SQ1, where as in the SQ1 remake the timepod appears in VGA world.
 * The Space Quest Companion takes the route of blending some of the SQ4 EGA and SQ1VGA details, in that Roger returns to Ulence Flats, at about the same time the Drallion cruiser he was flying was blasting off into space. However, he doesn't encounter the mugger. Things start out looking the same as he 'remembers them' in VGA, but begins to fade, and he begins to notice that things look EGA (Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter (original version)). However, like in the game Droids B Us is closed (explained as "gone fishin"), Tiny had sold off most of his merchandise and is missing.
 * Some of the elements in the game make use of retrofuturism.

Staff Roll

 * Executive Producer: Ken Williams
 * Creative Director: Bill Davis
 * Directors: Douglas Herring and Scott Murphy
 * Producer: Stuart Moulder
 * Game Designers: Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy
 * Art Designer: Douglas Herring
 * Lead Programmer: Jerry Shaw
 * Composer: Ken Allen
 * Animators: Desie Hartman, Douglas Herring, Jerry Jesserun, Deena Krutak, Nathan Larsen, Vasken Sayre, Diana Wilson, Arturo Sinclair, and Russell Truelove
 * Background Artists: Jay Allan Friedmann, Douglas Herring, Andy Hoyos, Eric Kasner, Nathan Larsen, Suzi Livengood, Jennifer Shontz, Arturo Sinclair, and Willis Wong
 * Programmers: Hugh Diedrichs, Dave Jamriska, Randy MacNeill, and Jerry Shaw
 * Music Director: Mark Seibert
 * Space Quest 1 Theme Based on the Original Composition: Mark Crowe
 * System Development: Dan Foy, Pablo Ghenis, Eric Hart, Robert Eric Heitman, J. Mark Hood, Larry Scott, Christopher Smith, Jeff Stephenson, and Mark Wilden
 * Sound Effects: Ken Allen, Orpheus Hanley, and Mark Seibert
 * Additional Material: Gano Haine, and Bridget McKenna
 * Quality Assurance: Sharon Simmons
 * Box Design: Terry Robinson

Amiga Conversion Team

 * Amiga Implementation: Steven Coallier, and Jerry Shaw
 * Amiga Quality Assurance: Bill Davis, Roger Clendenning, Max Deardorff, Mat Genesi, Bill Hilton, Mike Pickhinke, Joe Perry, and Sharon Simmons

Patches

 * Space Quest 1 SCI Update (SQ1RLX): For the remake (SCI) of Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter. Updated game executable.
 * Space Quest I SCI Updated Sound Drivers (E29PATCH): For the remake (SCI) of Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter. Corrects "error 29, unable to initialize audio hardware". Updated driver works with faster systems using the SoundBlaster 16. This file contains two drivers that have been designed for compatibility with 486 systems, MTBLAST.DRV and SNDBLAST.DRV (for Diskette version.)
 * Space Quest I SCI Patch (SQ1_NRS): For the remake (SCI) of Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter. This non-Sierra update is one of NewRisingSun's script level timer bugs patches. Extract SQ1_NRS.ZIP into the directory where the game is installed. Fixes:
 * Kerona desert: spider droid arrival
 * Kerona desert: dehydration
 * Kerona cave: acid drops
 * Various animation issues
 * NOTE: Previous saved games will work only if they were saved in an area whose script code is not affected by the patch.


 * Space Quest I VGA saves (SQ1VGASG): Space Quest 1 SCI was designed to run on systems with a 386 to 486 class of processor. Newer systems from Pentium-class or faster may encounter speed and timing problems in the following areas of the game:
 * After Roger has reached the subterranean caverns on Kerona for the first time.
 * After Roger has passed the acid drips for the first time.
 * After Roger arrives back in the caverns for the second time.
 * After Roger passes the drips for the second time.
 * After the skimmer sequence.
 * This is due to the faster clock speed of more recent systems. These save games are designed to start immediately after the above listed problems to allow the player to finish the game.