King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow

King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow
Developer: Sierra On-Line Publisher: Sierra On-Line Platforms: DOS, Windows, Mac OS Classic Released internationally: September 30, 1992 This game has unused areas. This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused sounds. This game has unused text. This game has debugging material. This game has revisional differences. This game has a notes page

King's Quest VI is widely regarded by fans as the highest point in the series, for reasons ranging from an excellent storyline, to the then-groundbreaking quality (like the opening CG movie), to rather clever puzzles.

To do: Revamp the Revisional Differences section, as it's currently quite confusing and poorly-worded. Find out what the Alt+S debug function and the tutorial room's "g"-file effect do. There's some unused system/development text, such as room error messages and "Do not print this. Comment msg only." placeholder lines. Cover script 952's function in more detail.

Sub-Page

Notes

Debug Mode

Script 911, which handles debugging functions, seems to have been accidentally left in the Spanish and Italian releases of the final game; these functions can be activated by having an extracted copy of the script file in the game's directory.

Alternatively, the following patch files can be used to enable the debug functions in an English copy of the game.

Download kq6.en.debug_scripts File: kq6.en.debug_scripts.zip (4 KB) (info)

(Source: OmerMor)

When active, upon opening the game or choosing to restart, the following menu appears:

These buttons can be used to warp the player to the first room of their respective areas, while specific rooms can be warped to by entering their internal ID number in the text box.

The following debug commands can be used during gameplay:

Keys	Name	Notes
Alt + A	show Cast	Crashes the game.
Alt + B	Polygon Editor	This editor has enough surviving code to at least load in successfully (see below), but trying to create a new polygon with it crashes the game.
Alt + C	Control map	Shows the Control layer of the current room.
Alt + D	DebugOn toggle	Displays a textbox saying "On" (or "Off" if you select it a second time). It's unknown if this has any actual effect; the debug functions seem to still work even with this set to Off.
Alt + F	Flag set/clr	Sets a given flag, or clears it if it's already been set.
Alt + G	Global set	Changes the value of a given global variable. Trying to make an invalid change crashes the game.
Alt + I	Inv items	Crashes the game.
Alt + L	Log file	Activates script 952, a form for QA testers to file bug reports.
Alt + M	Memory	Displays the amount of bytes free in memory.
Alt + P	Priority map	Shows the Priority layer of the current room.
Alt + Q	show Cursor Coords	Crashes the game.
Alt + R	Room info	Crashes the game.
Alt + S	Updating cast elements	Function currently unknown.
Alt + T	Teleport	Brings up the same warp menu as upon game start. Doesn't work on the Isle of Wonder or during some cutscenes (exactly which rooms are affected can be found on the Notes page).
Alt + U	return User control	As implied by the name, can be used to regain control of Alexander during cutscenes that would normally lock it (though this seems to not always work; more testing might be needed to determine the exact mechanics).
Alt + V	Visual map	Shows the Visual layer of the current room (aka., the default view).
Alt + W	feature Writer	This editor appears to be more functional than the Polygon Editor, and can be used to add simple map features to the current room.
Alt + Y	Vanishing point adj	Crashes the game.
Alt + Z	QUICK QUIT	Immediately quits the game.

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  The Control layer, as seen on the starting screen.

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  The Priority layer, as seen on the starting screen.

• 

  The Memory function in use.

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  The Polygon Editor in use.

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• 
• 

  The Feature Writer in use.

• 
• 

Additionally, the game checks for the presence of a file named g (with no file extension) in the game's directory, and if present, warping to certain rooms will have additional effects:

Room	Function
205 (Tutorial)	Function currently unknown.
470 (Isle of Wonder, swamp)	Adds the dagger, the skull, the hunter's lamp, the teacup, and Rotten Tomato to Alexander's inventory.
480 (Isle of Wonder, garden)	Adds the flute and the milk bottle to Alexander's inventory.
740 (Castle of the Crown, main hall)	Shows text boxes with dialogue prompts to set story flags for the current game state (see below). Also adds the mirror and the peppermint leaf to Alexander's inventory, making it possible to complete the game from here regardless of your choices.
750 (Castle of the Crown, final vizier confrontation room)	Shows text boxes with Yes/No dialogue prompts asking "Does Jollo have lamp?" and "Does Cassima have dagger?", and sets the corresponding story flags accordingly. Also adds the peppermint leaf to Alexander's inventory, making it possible to complete the game from here regardless.

The full sequence of dialogue prompts for room 740 (if "V wedding" is selected for the first prompt, only it and the second prompt are used):

Prompt	Options
select:	V wedding		A wedding
Are Cassima's parent's alive?	No		Yes
genie status?	Killed with peppermint		Saved
Found missing treasure?	No		Yes
Befriended Court Clown?	No		Yes
Which ring?	Cassima has a ring	Alex has a ring	Left ring at pawn shop

Unused Dialogue

Unused Death Messages

These lines are stored in the same file (message 916) as other death messages, but are never used in-game.

Speaker	Text	Audio
Narrator	Caught in the act! Alexander's in the doghouse now!
	Timing is everything....
	Perhaps Alexander should have introduced himself when he had the chance!
	Don't be taken in by a pretty face, Alexander.
	That wasn't berry smart, Alexander!
	Too bad Alexander couldn't quiet those ghostly tears!

This line does have a coded-in use case, for when Alexander is caught by the minotaur in the spying room of the catacombs while the hole-in-the-wall is currently present on the wall... except that the minotaur only appears there if the hole-in-the-wall has already ran off, or wasn't used at all, making the line impossible to trigger.

Speaker	Text	Audio
Narrator	Sometimes looks ARE everything!

(Source: shadyparadox, sluicebox)

Removed Background Details

The screen with Beauty's house (room 250) has unused interaction lines for a cat that doesn't appear there in the final game.

Speaker	Action	Text	Audio
Narrator	Using an item	There's no reason to use that on the poor family cat.
	Take	Alexander would never be able to catch the cat and wouldn't want to take the family's pet, anyway.
	Look	A striped cat lounges in the yard of the private home. It must be a family pet.
	Speak	Apparently, the cat has got its own tongue, for it refuses to reply.

Similarly, the bookshop (room 270) has both actor scripting and interaction lines for a spider that doesn't actually appear in the final game. This spider may have been repurposed into the spider that appears in the castle dungeon later on in the game, which is labeled "ant" internally.

Speaker	Action	Text	Audio
Narrator	Using an item	Unless Alexander has some flies, the spider is probably not interested.
	Take	Alexander does not care to get any closer to that spider.
	Look	A spider seems to be enjoying the shelves of musty books that the book shop has to offer.
	Speak	The spider merely observes and says nothing.

These lines are from the inside of the ferry (room 290), and presumably were meant for the painting hanging up on the wall there, which is visible but not interactable in the final game.

Speaker	Action	Text	Audio
Narrator	Take	The woman in the picture probably means something to the ferryman. Alexander decides to leave the picture on the wall.
	Look	An old oil painting of a pretty girl hangs on the cabin wall.
	Speak	The image in the picture does not reply.

This line is assigned to the carved horse on the wall in the hallway outside Cassima's room in the castle (room 870), but its action type (verb 75) is unused, rendering it inaccessible.

Speaker	Text	Audio
Narrator	The horse is unable to carry Alexander away from these guarded halls.

(Source: sluicebox, Sam, original TCRF research)

Other

When talking to the ferryman inside the ferry, one of his repeating dialogue lines at the end of the conversation doesn't play in-game. It was re-enabled in the Amiga release, however.

Speaker	Text	Audio
Ferryman	"The island's currents keep us pretty isolated. I can only recall three visitors in my lifetime. When I was a boy a wanderer came, Alhazred himself arrived many years ago, and now you. We have almost no contact with the outside world, but we're content with our little kingdom. At least, we always were in the past."

The scripting for this line (from the Isle of Wonder beach, room 450) indicates that it would've been an alternate line for presenting the flower of stench to Tom Trow, perhaps for doing so too late, but in the final game control is taken away from the player as soon as the time limit for successfully presenting an item is up.

Speaker	Text	Audio
Narrator	It's no good using that on the gnome now!

Several of the rooms used for the Cliffs of Logic have lines seemingly for preventing Alexander from backtracking during the climb, but in the final game there is no such restriction.

Speaker	Room	Text	Audio
Narrator	21 (general Isle of the Sacred Mountain region)	Alexander has the feeling the tricky granite steps might not approve if he tried to turn back now.
		Alexander has a feeling the tricky granite steps might not approve if he tried to turn back now.
	300 (beach)	Alexander has the feeling that the tricky granite steps would not approve if he tried to go back the way he came!
	320 (mid-climb)	Alexander has a feeling the tricky granite steps might not approve if he tried to turn back now.

The "room" (155) used for the cutscenes of riding Night Mare when entering and leaving the Realm of the Dead has two lines of dialogue associated with it, but these aren't used in the final game.

Speaker	Text	Audio
Narrator	Alexander clings to Night Mare's back as she flies higher and higher. They enter a darkness so deep and cold that Alexander feels his very bones penetrated by the icy blackness.
	The three mortals cling to the broad back of Night Mare. At first, there is nothing but blackness all around. But the chill gradually melts into an enticing warmth, as they fly into the life-giving sun of the world of men.

These lines are assigned to the end of the final confrontation between Alexander and the vizier (in room 750), but don't actually play there in-game.

Speaker	Text	Audio
Narrator	The vizier, distracted so well by Cassima's bravery, fails to watch the sword at his back--or the enraged prince who wields it!
Alexander	"Leave her alone, Alhazred! You are through harming her--and this kingdom!"
Alhazred	"Wha...?"

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Graphics

Shamir has a portrait in the game's data, complete with talking animations and golden eyes shining. In spite of this, it goes completely unused in the game, except in the Amiga release.

Original	Color-corrected

An unused background for the Realm of the Dead. The raw background has a color error, however.

(Source: Akril15)

Unused Room

Room 605 is an unused duplicate of the first room of the Realm of the Dead (room 600) with none of the usual actors or descriptive text present, possibly used for testing. It has one exit to the north, to room 630 (the second room of the Realm of the Dead), whereas in the used version that exit is to the east instead. Upon entry, three text boxes with Yes/No button prompts appear in succession:

Would you like a ticket?
How about a (deadman's) coin?
Maybe a mirror? They're great for defeating spirits!

Answering "yes" to any of these questions will grant the player the corresponding item(s), all of which are required to progress through this area in normal gameplay.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Sounds

Cassima

Early	Final

Audios 3001 and 3002 are Cassima's voices in the DOS floppy release. However, there is a third pointer that also has the ID of 3002-- it leads to an early version of her lines, which seem to be longer and lower in quality. For obvious reasons, it was removed in future releases.

Unused Voice Lines for Unvoiced Text

Some of the used text lines that are unvoiced in-game have voice files associated with them in the files that are never played.

Speaker	Text	Audio
Narrator	NO! I must quest on!
Narrator	Yes! I've had it!
Narrator	Oops. Cancel restart.
Narrator	Yes. Restart already.

When choosing to quit or restart the game, these options (stored in message 0) are given to cancel or confirm your choice.

Speaker	Text	Audio
Narrator	Thank you for playing
Narrator	Written & Designed by
Narrator	Roberta Williams Jane Jensen
Narrator	Produced by
Narrator	Robert W. Lindsley William D. Skirvin
Narrator	Directed by
Narrator	Roberta Williams William D. Skirvin Jane Jensen
Narrator	Art Designer
Narrator	William D. Skirvin
Narrator	Composer
Narrator	Chris Braymen
Narrator	Text & Dialogue
Narrator	Jane Jensen
Narrator	Senior Artists
Narrator	Michael Hutchison John Shroades
Narrator	Team Artists
Narrator	Russell Truelove Deanna Yhalkee
Narrator	Senior Programmer
Narrator	Robert W. Lindsley
Narrator	Team Programmers
Narrator	Randy MacNeill Robert L. Mallory Victor Sadauskas
Narrator	Team Quality Assurance
Narrator	Robin Bradley
Narrator	Guidebook Written by
Narrator	Jane Jensen
Narrator	Guidebook Illustrated by
Narrator	John Shroades
Narrator	Guidebook Designed by
Narrator	Mark Empey
Narrator	Additional Artists
Narrator	Darlou Gams Tim Loucks Rick Morgan Jennifer Shontz Cindy Walker Karin A. Young
Narrator	You received out of points. You've completed approximately percent of the main-path puzzles in King's Quest VI.
Narrator	We hope you'll play again!
Narrator	Congratulations on your excellent performance! If you want to go "beyond" the ultimate score, we recommend that you try the other, "easier" entrance to the castle. You can do so easily by restoring back to a point just before the Druid's rain storm. DON'T GO BACK TO SEE THE DRUIDS--instead, head for the castle. New puzzle challenges await you!
Narrator	Thank you for playing King's Quest VI.
Narrator	Opening Cartoon by
Narrator	Kronos: Stanley Lui & Albert Co
Narrator	Cinematography
Narrator	Rod Fung Bob Ballew
Narrator	Musicians
Narrator	Dan Kehler Rick Spurgeon
Narrator	Additional Programming
Narrator	Doug Oldfield Carlos Escobar
Narrator	Additional Testing
Narrator	Mike Brosius John Radcliffe
Narrator	Customer Service
Narrator	Rob Koeppel
Narrator	Special Thanks
Narrator	Tammy Dargan Rebecca Sebastian Mark Seibert ("Girl in the Tower" song) Fresno State University KQVI beta testers
Narrator	System Development
Narrator	Chad Bye Dan Foy J. Mark Hood Brian K. Hughes Ken Koch Jack Magne Terry McHenry Larry Scott Chris Smith Mark Wilden

These credits (in message 94) are the ones you get upon completing the game.

Speaker	Text	Audio
Narrator	Written & Designed by
Narrator	Roberta Williams Jane Jensen
Narrator	Produced by
Narrator	William D. Skirvin
Narrator	Directed by
Narrator	Roberta Williams William D. Skirvin Jane Jensen
Narrator	Art Designer
Narrator	William D. Skirvin
Narrator	Composer
Narrator	Chris Braymen
Narrator	Senior Artists
Narrator	Michael Hutchison John Shroades
Narrator	Team Artists
Narrator	Russell Truelove Deanne Yhalkee
Narrator	Senior Programmer
Narrator	Robert W. Lindsley
Narrator	Team Programmers
Narrator	Randy MacNeill Robert L. Mallory Victor Sadauskas
Narrator	Team Quality Assurance
Narrator	Robin Bradley

These credits (in message 95) are the ones accessible from the About menu.

Speaker	Text	Audio
Narrator	Long ago, in the castle of a kingdom called Daventry....
Narrator	A young prince sits alone in the throne room, head in hands, lost in melancholy.
Narrator	His mother, Queen Valanice, enters, and hastens to his side.
Valanice	"Alexander! Here you are! You're still not thinking about Cassima, are you?"
Alexander	"Hmmm? I suppose I am."
Valanice	"Son, it's been MONTHS. You've GOT to pull yourself together. After all, you only met her that once...."
Alexander	"I know."
Valanice	"Have you discovered anything about the Land of the Green Isles?"
Alexander	"No! No one's even heard of it! It's like she's just vanished!"
Valanice	"I wish I could help. Please try to think about something else, dear."
Alexander	"I'll try, Mother."
Narrator	With a feeling of helplessness, the Queen turns and leaves her son to his thoughts.
Narrator	Suddenly, the magic mirror on the wall flashes to life....
Narrator	The prince leaps to his feet and runs to place his hand against the shimmering glass.
Narrator	Beneath his fingers, the mirror dissolves into a scene of a beautiful girl in a tower's window, looking out on a starry night sky. It is Cassima!
Cassima	"Alexander.... I feel so alone. I don't know what to do.... Alexander, I wish you were here...."
Narrator	The picture fades to glass, the princess to the prince's own reflection.
Alexander	"Cassima! Wait!"
Narrator	But the image is gone! Prince Alexander turns towards the throne room doors.
Alexander	"MOTHER! MOTHER, COME QUICK!"
Narrator	Queen Valanice rushes in, her face full of concern.
Valanice	"Alexander, what on earth? You're white as a ghost!"
Alexander	"Mother, I saw Cassima! She was in the mirror!"
Valanice	"In the mirror? The magic mirror?"
Alexander	"Yes! And it showed me how to find her!"
Valanice	"How?"
Alexander	"The stars! I saw the stars outside her window! I can navigate by the stars!"
Valanice	"Oh, Alexander.... If you really go...."
Alexander	"It will be alright, Mother. I promise."
Narrator	And so, the prince leaves his homeland, bound for a land he knows only by the stars.
Narrator	Three long months Prince Alexander sails the known seas...and beyond.
Narrator	Until finally, on a day like every other day at sea, as the young prince searches through his spyglass.
Narrator	He sights land!
Alexander	"Land ho! LAND HO! LAND HO!"
Narrator	Eagerly, the ship bounds towards the distant shore.
Narrator	Day turns to night and the ship nears the shore. As the sky blackens, so too, does the sea. The ship is tossed amidst monstrous currents and whirlpools, as though the land itself were shoving the vessel away.
Narrator	The battle is courageous, but the ship, and the prince, are drawn down and down....
Narrator	Down into the sea....

The version of the intro that plays on the DOS CD-ROM version without speech enabled (found in message 105), identifiable by its use of extended narration to replace the visuals seen in all other versions.

Speaker	Text	Audio
Narrator	This entire work is Copyright 1992 Sierra On-Line, Inc. All rights reserved.

The copyright message displayed before the title screen (found in message 905).

Speaker	Text	Audio
Narrator	About King's Quest I-V
Narrator	About King's Quest VI
Narrator	Tips for playing King's Quest VI
Narrator	Beginner Walk-Thru
Narrator	"Girl in the Tower" theme song.
Narrator	You just heard a sampling of the love ballad, "Girl in the Tower," written for King's Quest VI. If you'd like to hear the entire song, please contact your local radio station and request it. Refer to the station directory included in your game box for call letters and phone numbers of participating stations. (This promotion ends January 31, 1993.) Look for the CD-ROM version of King's Quest VI available in Spring 1993. Thank you for playing King's Quest VI.
Narrator	You are unable to hear a sampling of the love ballad from King's Quest VI because your computer does not have voice capabilities. If you'd like to hear this song, please contact any of the radio stations listed on the station directory provided in your game box and request "Girl in the Tower" from Sierra On-Line. (This promotion ends January 31, 1993.) Look for the CD-ROM version of King's Quest VI available in Spring 1993. Thank you for playing King's Quest VI.
Narrator	Tips for playing King's Quest VI:

More About menu text (found in message 908).

Speaker	Text	Audio
Narrator	"Death...where is thy sting?" Now Alexander knows....
Narrator	Death waits for no man!
Narrator	'Tis a noble thing to have a means of escape, and 'tis a far, far better thing to never get caught at all!

Two death messages for the Realm of the Dead (in messsage 916) and one for the castle dungeon (in message 820). These particular deaths are the only ones that skip the usual ticket cutscene, as well as being displayed on a plain black background rather than a standard textbox.

Revisional Differences

Character Graphic Portrait versions

Floppy	Enhanced CD

Alexander's Item Inventory

Floppy	Enhanced CD

Floppy 1992 Version

• The Windows XP collection of this game plays in DOSBOX mode.
• The graphics are downgraded to play the original DOS game.
• The Windows XP version and the Steam releases feature the low resolution graphic portraits of characters Such as Prince Alexander and other characters.
• The icons and items are featured in low-detail graphics using the pink color palette.
• The items in Alexanders inventory are downgraded to low-detail graphics.

1997 King's Quest Collection CD-ROM Version

• The opening of the King's Quest VI video plays the opening music all the way to the end.
• The Windows 95 version features high-resolution graphics portraits of characters such as Prince Alexander and other characters.
• The icons and items are featured in high-detail graphics using the white color palette.
• The items in Alexander's inventory are upgraded to high-detail graphics.
• At the end of the wedding scene in Speech mode, the game crashes and shows the end credits in the black background. This is due to the decisions not to include "Girl in the Tower".
• While playing the wedding scene in the text version, the instrumental song "Girl in the Tower" will be played and the end credits shows the background scenes from the game.
• This enhanced Windows 95 version won't work in the Windows XP or 7, 8, 10 modes and is often considered a lost PC game.

2006 King's Quest Collection CD-ROM Version

• The opening of the King's Quest VI video doesn't finish and cuts off near the end.
• The Windows XP collection of this game plays in DOSBOX mode.
• The graphics are downgraded to play the original DOS game.
• The Windows XP version and the Steam releases features the low-resolution graphic portraits of characters Smsuch as Prince Alexander and other characters.
• The icons and items are featured in low-detail graphics using the pink color palette.
• The items in Alexanders inventory are downgraded to low-detail graphics.
• The DOSBOX game crashes after about 3 hours of gameplay, which may make it frustrating for those who don't save often.
• At the end of the wedding scene in Speech mode, the game plays the song "Girl in the Tower" which is included in this game.