LucasArtsifier - Automatically detects and patches softlocks in Sierra adventure games
Show HN: Automatically detect and patch walking-dead states in Sierra games
LucasArtsifier is a static analysis tool for classic Sierra adventure games. It decompiles game scripts, uses abstract interpretation to build a graph of game states, and identifies softlocks—situations where the game remains playable but winning becomes impossible. The tool then derives, verifies, and compiles guards that prevent these dead ends, patching the game without modifying original files. It has been tested on four games across two engine generations, with no game-specific code. Users can control guard behavior in-game, and the tool is open-source, requiring only Python and standard tools.
This tool finds traps that have frustrated players for decades and blocks them at the last moment you can still comply—proving that even 30-year-old games can be made fair.
- bsammon
The discussion here reminded me of the "Cruelty Scale" (https://www.ifwiki.org/Cruelty_scale) It was originally created specifically in relation to text adventure games, but seems appropriate to a broader range of game types.
The rankings are based on criteria like how far the game lets you go after making a get-stuck choice before you realize you're stuck, and whether that realization comes with clear information about what the wrong choice was.
- matheusmoreira
For those wondering just how pervasive this is:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UnwinnableByDesign/Si...
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UnintentionallyUnwinn...
- dafelst
This is so cool, what a great project!
I remember using a single save game and soft locking myself in Space Quest 2 by not getting the glowing gem, and in Space Quest 1 I think by not picking up the shard of broken glass, and being so pissed off about having to replay.
The LSL dip and sunscreen issues you fixed were particularly egregious, by that point I feel like they should have fixed things.
While Sierra should absolutely be recognized for spawning an entire genre of games that were legitimately fun, it is crazy that they were fine with shipping games with these broken states, when it was eminently preventable.
- jddj
I remember in Kings Quest 6 you can meet a guy early on in the bookstore which becomes relevant (but not critical?) right at the end. I never knew how relevant though, as the time I played it through right to the end wasn't one of the times when he'd happened to be in the bookstore early on.
I guess that's not enough of a dead end to block progress.
Maybe it'd be enough just to know what happens in the castle if Prince Alexander had befriended him. Otherwise I guess I'll carry that unresolved thread around with me for another ~25 years.
Edit: went looking for spoilers and yeah, alternate ending which admittedly sounds better than the one I got
- shoo
tangent: this unfortunate design choice by the old Sierra adventure games has been discussed a number of times on the Designer Notes podcast, focused on game design [1]. Soren opens each discussion by asking the guest which is the first game they remember.