Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders
Developers | |
---|---|
LucasArts | |
Publishers | |
Disney Interactive Studios | |
Engines | |
Original | SCUMM |
Re-release | ScummVM |
Release dates | |
DOS | January 1, 1988 |
Windows (ScummVM) | March 19, 2015[1] |
macOS (OS X) (ScummVM) | March 19, 2015[1] |
Linux (ScummVM) | March 19, 2015[1] |
Key points
- Can be run under ScummVM.
- At any time, press F5 to Save, Load, or return to the launcher menu of ScummVM. This will let you access advanced options and quit the game as well.
General information
- GOG.com Community Discussions
- GOG.com Support Page
- Steam Community Discussions
- The Zak McKracken Archive - compressive resource on everything Zak McKracken
- Composer's website
Availability
Source | DRM | Notes | Keys | OS |
---|---|---|---|---|
Retail | "Exit Visa Code Book" | |||
GOG.com | Includes both EGA DOS version and 256-color FM Towns version.[Note 1] | |||
Steam | Includes both EGA DOS version and 256-color FM Towns version.[Note 1] |
Version differences
Low-res version
The initial version uses the original chunky C64 graphics, ported to the PC.
High-res Enhanced version
The later Enhanced version supports EGA 16-colour in 320x200.
Essential improvements
Three-channel audio support
- The game has optional support for three-channel audio, which requires the audio hardware built into the Tandy 1000 computer. Other systems are limited to single-channel audio played through the PC speaker.
Use ScummVM |
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Notes
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Use DOSBox |
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Notes
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Game data
Configuration file(s) location
System | Location |
---|---|
DOS | <path-to-game>\PREFS |
Windows | <path-to-game>\zak.ini[Note 2] |
macOS (OS X) | |
Linux | |
Steam Play (Linux) | <SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/559070/pfx/[Note 3] |
- It's unknown whether this game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux. Please fill in this information.
PREFS file
When starting the game in DOS or DOSBox, it will normally try to autodetect the video capabilities.
However, it is possible to create a PREFS configuration file, with your preferred settings.
Creating a PREFS file can be done by running the game, and pressing ⇧ Shift W.
Loading a PREFS file can be done in one of 2 ways:
- While running the game, press ⇧ Shift R
- Start the game by typing
ZAK P
While the game is running, you can use the following keys to change your settings, after which you can save them with ⇧ Shift W.
- ⇧ Shift J Toggle joystick on/off
- ⇧ Shift M Toggle mouse on/off
- ⇧ Shift V MCGA mode
- ⇧ Shift E EGA mode
- ⇧ Shift C CGA mode
- ⇧ Shift H Hercules mode
- ⇧ Shift T Tandy 16-color mode
- ⇧ Shift B CGA black-and-white mode
The PREFS file can also be edited with a text editor. Example of a PREFS file:
******************** * Preferences File * ******************** HERC OFF TANDY OFF CGA OFF B&W_CGA OFF EGA ON MCGA OFF VGA OFF COMPOSITE OFF JOYSTICK OFF MOUSE ON TEXT_RATE 3
Save game data location
System | Location |
---|---|
DOS | <path-to-game>\SAVEGAME.* |
Windows | <path-to-game>\zak.s**[Note 2] |
macOS (OS X) | |
Linux | |
Steam Play (Linux) | <SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/559070/pfx/[Note 3] |
- The file extension of saves will be an
s
followed by two numbers, starting from 00. Example:Zak.s06
- The Saves folder can be changed to any folder by going to ScummVM's options (F5 in-game).
Save game cloud syncing
System | Native | Notes |
---|---|---|
GOG Galaxy | ||
Steam Cloud |
- ScummVM 2.1+ supports cloud saves on third-party cloud storage services. See the ScummVM documentation for details.
Video
Graphics feature | State | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
Widescreen resolution | |||
Multi-monitor | |||
Ultra-widescreen | |||
4K Ultra HD | |||
Field of view (FOV) | |||
Windowed | Alt+↵ Enter in ScummVM or DOSBox. Also in Options. | ||
Borderless fullscreen windowed | |||
Anisotropic filtering (AF) | Post-process based filters are optional. | ||
Anti-aliasing (AA) | "Antialiased renderer" on by default. Be warned; this gives the game a slight blur effect. | ||
Vertical sync (Vsync) | For DOSBox use an unofficial build (see the glossary page for other workarounds). | ||
60 FPS and 120+ FPS |
Input
Keyboard and mouse | State | Notes |
---|---|---|
Remapping | For DOSBox use the DOSBox Mapper (see the glossary page for other workarounds). | |
Mouse acceleration | ||
Mouse sensitivity | For DOSBox set in the DOSBox configuration file. | |
Mouse input in menus | ||
Mouse Y-axis inversion | ||
Controller | ||
Controller support | For DOSBox use the DOSBox Mapper (see the glossary page for other workarounds). |
Controller types |
---|
Audio
Audio feature | State | Notes |
---|---|---|
Separate volume controls | ||
Surround sound | ||
Subtitles | All dialogue is text-based. | |
Closed captions | ||
Mute on focus lost | For DOSBox change the priority background value in the DOSBox configuration file. |
|
Red Book CD audio | Redbook tracks from the FM Towns version have been replaced with MP3 files in digital rereleases. |
Localizations
Language | UI | Audio | Sub | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
English | ||||
French | For GOG.com version, see [1] | |||
German | Enhanced version. Not available on digital rereleases. | |||
Russian | Fan translation by «PRCA/Бюро переводов Old-Games.Ru». Download link #1 and #2 for EGA-enhanced version |
Issues unresolved
Intro music cuts off abruptly (256-color FM Towns version)
- ScummVM's video emulation is faster than an authentic FM Towns, resulting in the intro video ending before the music can finish.[3]
Other information
API
Technical specs | Supported | Notes |
---|---|---|
DOS video modes | Hercules, CGA, EGA, Tandy | The FM Towns version, included with digital versions, uses 256 colors similarly to VGA. The PC version lists VGA and MCGA support on the box, but it uses EGA (or simulated EGA for MCGA) instead on those systems. |
System requirements
DOS | ||
---|---|---|
Minimum | Recommended | |
Operating system (OS) | ||
Processor (CPU) | 8086 | |
System memory (RAM) | 256 KB | |
Hard disk drive (HDD) | ||
Video card (GPU) | Hercules or CGA | EGA or Tandy |
Windows | ||
---|---|---|
Minimum[4] | Recommended | |
Operating system (OS) | XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 | |
Processor (CPU) | 1 GHz | 1.4 GHz |
System memory (RAM) | 256 MB | 512 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) | 130 MB | 170 MB |
Video card (GPU) | DirectX 7 compatible | DirectX 9 compatible |
macOS (OS X) | ||
---|---|---|
Minimum | Recommended | |
Operating system (OS) | 10.7 or later | |
Processor (CPU) | Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GHz or better | |
System memory (RAM) | 1 GB | |
Hard disk drive (HDD) | 130 MB | 170 MB |
Video card (GPU) | OpenGL compatible 64 MB of VRAM | |
Other | Apple Mouse with Secondary button/click enabled | Two-Button Mouse |
Linux | ||
---|---|---|
Minimum | Recommended | |
Operating system (OS) | Ubuntu 14.04 / Linux Mint 17 | |
Processor (CPU) | 2.0 GHz | |
System memory (RAM) | 1 GB | |
Hard disk drive (HDD) | 130 MB | 170 MB |
Video card (GPU) | OpenGL compatible 256 MB of VRAM |
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Only the English version of the FM Towns version is available; the Kanji version is not included.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below
%PROGRAMFILES%
,%PROGRAMDATA%
, or%WINDIR%
might be redirected to%LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore
on Windows Vista and later (more details). - ↑ 3.0 3.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
- File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
- Games with Steam Cloud support may also store data in
~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/559070/
. - Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
- The app ID (559070) may differ in some cases.
- Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
- See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.