This game is made with Adventure Game Studio (AGS) version 2.72, and not version 3.x, for one reason only: AGS 2.72 has a Linux port, and later versions don't. However, the game has only been seriously tested in Windows, so there are no Linux guarantees. Think of yourself as buying a Windows version and the Linux version is a bonus.
(Technical note: at time of writing there is talk of a Linux port for a later version of AGS. However, Enter The Story must be backward compatible in order for later stories to link with earlier ones, so Enter The Story will always use AGS 2.72)
Option 1: the new Linux runtime (tested in Ubuntu)
'strazer' wrote, regarding another game: "Didn't use the installer and copied the files myself, but it works like a charm, including sound & music!"
Option 2: run it in WINE
A Linux user wrote:
"I decided to try playing the game using WINE. Turns out that it runs beautifully that way. (Must be that one of the WINE developers loves adventure games. :) ) For reference, the version of WINE that I used was 1.1.1 running on Debian Linux 5.0 (also known as "Lenny")."
Option 4: Sun's Virtual Box (if your box is very fast)
One Linux user tried the game in Sun's Virtual Box, running XP on Ubuntu. The game played, but too slowly to be useful: the music was choppy and the mouse was intermittent. Which indicates that on a more powerful machine it might work properly. The game was designed on a 1.6 GHz Windows XP machine, and normally uses 70 percent of CPU. So your Virtual Box needs to emulate at that speed or faster (i.e. your computer must be a lot faster to allow for emulation overhead). If you try it please let me know your results and I'll update this page. Thanks!
Option 3: the old Linux runtime (tested in Debian)
The Linux runtime has only been tested with Debian Linux, but may run in other distributions. The game has no DLLs or Direct-X or codecs or MIDI or other nastiness, so there's a good chance it will run in other systems, but there are no guarantees.
Sound (in the Debian runtime) might not work
Warning: this runtime was made a few years ago, and Linux is always changing. A Linux user wrote:
"I couldn't get sound to go. This is understandable since the AGS engine that was made for Linux was created ages ago (in computer time) and it uses outdated sound protocols. ... So if anyone complains of this, just tell them it is a known problem with the Linux AGS binary."
Still want to use the old Debian runtime? Here's how:
1. Get the right format
The Linux version uses exactly the same files as the Windows version. If you don't want the Windows installer then download the zip file instead. Rename Enter The Story.exe to ac2game.dat
To set up the game, type ./ags-setup, hit enter, then select "force Alternate letterbox resolution", then 640 x 480, then hit Save. Also check the box that says "Use digital music pack if available" in ags-setup. Type ./ags to play
These are some of the comments that might be helpful
Making a shortcut
"Go to /home/yourusername/Games/AGS/YOURGAMENAME in whatever file browser you use. Right click on ags, choose "use custom command". For the custom command type "gnome-terminal" if you use regular Ubuntu with the GNOME desktop. Do the same for ags-setup. You'll be able to run them by clicking them now, and you may even be able to run it through launchers If you want. If you want, you can have ags272 associated with exe files (via "Open with Other Application...")"
Technical stuff
'EvilTypeGuy' created the Linux untime, and he wrote:
"The AGS binary is now dynamically linked (excluding some libraries that are not currently available through apt-get), I suggest trying "sudo apt-get install libaldmb1 liballegro4.2 libgtk1.2 libxml1" to install the necessary dependencies.
I recommend deleting the acsetup.cfg and then re-generating it using ags-setup."
Don't worry about the new library dependencies. You should be able to install whatever dependencies you need using this: sudo apt-get install libaldmb1 liballegro4.2 libgtk1.2 libxml1 Obviously, the binaries should work on any distributions that meet these requirements or any Debian / Ubuntu derivatives: gcc >= 4.1
glibc >= 2.4
aldmb >= 0.9.3-5
Allegro >= 4.2
GTK = 1.2
LibXML 1
"You must rename game.exe to ac2game.dat or make a symlink to game.exe as ac2game.dat. You cannot tell AGS which file to use as the game file. It looks for ac2game.dat in the current directory."
There are some issues with MIDI, but this game doesn't use MIDI.
Download the free demo to see if it works on your computer.
Hardware: 50 MB free RAM (i.e. not including your operating system),
1 GHz CPU (1.6 GHz recommended)
200 MB free hard disk space
(for the first game, additional games will add about 120 MB each)
16 bit color or higher.
No special graphics card is needed.
Operating system:
Windows (tested on XP and Vista, should also work on 95, 98, etc.)
Ubuntu or possibly Debian Linux (see notes below)
Mac or other platform: only with a good Windows emulator, and cross your fingers.
The game doesn't use any DLLs, codecs, DirectX, graphics card, DRM, MIDI, or any of that complicated stuff. So if you have a good emulator it might work on a Mac or any other system. But it's only been tested in Windows.
To run the game on a Mac, you have three choices:
1. run a Windows emulator such as Crossover, or
2. dual boot your computer to Windows, or
3. (cheaper) dual boot your computer to Debian Linux.
I don't yet have a Mac, so I got most of this from the AGS site.
Running WINE on the Mac
A Linux user wrote:
"I decided to try playing the game using WINE. Turns out that it runs beautifully that way. (Must be that one of the WINE developers loves adventure games. :) ) For reference, the version of WINE that I used was 1.1.1 running on Debian Linux 5.0 (also known as "Lenny").
"For your Mac users I have found a page on WINE's site that links to conveniently packaged pre-built binaries.
[ http://wiki.winehq.org/MacOSX/Installing ]
All they need to do is download and "unpack" the software."
I don't know if anyone has tried running the game on a Mac in this way. Other AGS users have said their games don't work this way, but their games may not be the same. AGS 3.0 uses a Windows-specific graphics system, and many AGS games use Windows specific plug-ins. 'Enter The Story' uses AGS 2.72 and no plug-ins, so it might work. If anyone manages to get 'Enter The Story' to work on a Mac using WINE, please let me know!
The AGS Mac runtime
What we really need is a program that plays AGS game files on the Mac. A beta exists for AGS 2.71 games, but not AGS 2.72. Enter The Story is built with 2.72.
http://www.bigbluecup.com/acdload.htm "A Mac port of the AGS 2.71 game engine is currently in beta. It only supports OSX 10.4 and later, and should allow you to play AGS 2.x games on MacOS X."
http://www.bigbluecup.com/yabb/index.php?topic=30021.0
This is the main thread about the beta. Basically, 2.72 games (like Enter The Story) won't run in it. The thread ends "Ah dude, we seriously need a 272 runtime build."
http://www.bigbluecup.com/yabb/index.php?topic=28584.0 (I October 2006, Steve, the guy making the Mac runtime, said:) "2.72 for mac will arrive eventually. I don't have a lot of spare time to work on it right now. Sorry about that."
http://www.bigbluecup.com/yabb/index.php?topic=35042.0
[More recently, the genius who invented AGS wrote] "I think Steve is still working on it, but unofficially I just don't think he's had the time to do anything with it lately. So it's not officially discontinued, because it could be picked up and updated at any time."
Attention Mac programmers! Want some money?
A beta exists for 2.71, but it needs work to make it run with 2.72. Can you program for a Mac? Can you get in touch with Steve, the guy who made the beta? Are you Steve?
If you can make an AGS 2.72 game work on the Mac then I will pay you $5 for every Enter The Story sold to a Mac user. Right now that won't amount to much, but over the long run who knows? This could be your path to riches. (Although Mac programmers are already rich, as everyone knows.)
I have a similar offer to anyone who translates the game into a non-English language. See that page for details of how it works. Of course, if I end up selling all my games to non-English Mac users I could end up losing money (since I also have to pay hosting and payment and licensing costs). But this is something I believe in.
This is not suitable for complete beginners, but is not quite as hard as it sounds.
The game should run in Linux (see above), and Linux disks are practically free, so why not dual boot your Mac? Maybe it's a lot of hassle for just one game, but it's cool to have a dual booting machine for other reasons. Linux has tons of free software, it means having two computers for the price of one, and you can impress your friends! And keep your private stuff secret, since none of your friends will know how Linux works.
Most Linux disks will create a dual boot system automatically. you just download a Debian Linux 'ISO' file (a CD worth of files in one lump) then open your CD software (Nero or whatever) and make a CD. Then pop the Linux CD into your Mac and click "yes" and "OK" a few times.
If you've never made a dual boot system before, take care. The linux CD will need to change the boot sector (the part of your hard disk that starts up your computer) and make new partitions on your hard disk. The Linux CD software does it all for you, but these are still major changes. Nothing is ever quite as simple as it sounds, so don't say I didn't warn you.
Dual Booting to Windows
This is like dual booting to Linux, except Windows costs money. But it's easier to run the game in Windows. Here's what other AGS users say:
http://www.bigbluecup.com/yabb/index.php?topic=28584.0 "I run Bootcamp on my mac which is a fancy name for dualbooting. As far as I know, it's freely available if one has Mac 10.4 or lower and it comes with "Leopard" [but you ned to buy a copy of Windows as well]"
Running Windows in a virtual box
A common solution is to run software that lets Windows run as a Mac program. Some software pretends to be Windows, other software lets you install Windows on top, so you have to pay for Windows as well. Some programs are better than others:
http://www.bigbluecup.com/yabb/index.php?topic=34614.0 "For Mac OS 9 or an older operating system, [buy] Virtual PC 5. For Mac OSX 10.3.9 or older OSX versions, [buy] "Virtual PC 6". For the OSX 10.4.1 Or Later [buy] "Virtual PC 7" [or later]."
http://www.bigbluecup.com/yabb/index.php?topic=28584.0 "I have a MacBook (Intel based) I can run Windows inside Parallels (it's like VMWare). But a port of the engine it's surely better, because virtualization (and emulation) needs a lot of resources, and so the game doesn't run well at all. Plus, Parallels, it's not free, and Windows it's not free too."
I don't have a Mac (yet), so if you have any questions please visit the links above.
