After much waiting, ScummVM 0.2.0 has been released! So head over to the downloads page and grab it for your favorite platform. Currently we have downloads for i386 Debian Woody, Windows, Dreamcast, MacOSX, Familiar/Intimate, and Windows CE. Over the next few days we will also be adding downloads for MorphOS, RPMs, and maybe a BeOS download. Besides many major fixes, ScummVM now supports several new games, such as the FmTowns 256 color version of Zak McKracken, the CD version of Loom, and (strangely enough) Simon the Sorcerer! Several games supported in 0.1.0 are now completable in 0.2.0, such as Sam and Max. ScummVM release 0.2.0 also includes several new platforms, better support for different CPU architectures and endians, many more commandline options and experimental (e.g., do not report bugs on it!) support for Full Throttle, The Dig, the VGA version of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and the VGA version of Monkey Island (floppy).! So don't delay. Download it now, and if you really like it, click that little paypal button under the menu to donate money to help the ScummVM team buy tools and software to continue this project.
The Windows daily builds don't contain any virus's, some anti-virus scanner like [AntiVir](http://www.free-av.com) are falsely reporting the recent xbox emulator trojan (TR/XBoxEmu.2) in all self extracting files created by [SFX Maker](http://www.sfxmaker.cjb.net/) Work on ScummVM has been proceeding very slowly of late, as the main devteam is quite busy on other matters. We are aware of quite a few issues in Zak256 and some very serious ones in Simon that were found for 0.2.0, and plan to do an interim release (0.2.1) as soon as they are fixed. We are of course looking for more developers willing to help out, as there is only currently one person working on the game interpreter itself (although several are working on more specialized parts of the engine). We are also aware of a GP32 port in progress, and urge anyone who knows the developer to get him to contact [Ender](mailto:scummvm@enderboi.com). Besides the fact we are quite interested in his work, and wish to invite him to join the team... we are quite peeved he has released binaries and there appears to be no way to contact him for the source code to his port (as is required by the GPL license ScummVM uses)! Until the next update... **I can't pick that up! No really! Read my lips.. I... Can't... Pick... That... Up!**
Not much to report really, but don't worry, we are far from dead. Most of the ScummVM team is very busy with real-life school and work at the moment, but we are hoping the worst will be over very soon and we can get down to crunching some more bugs and releasing a new version! Here is a very rough draft of what we are considering to be ScummVM milestones: *0.2.5: All supported games next to bugless *0.3.0: The Dig and MI1 VGA Floppy supported *0.4.0: Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade supported, more bugfixes *0.5.0: Full Throttle supported, basic CMI and Maniac Mansion support *0.6.0: More work on CMI, MM and further bugfixes *0.7.0: Maniac Mansion completable, Zak McCracken and Loom16 playable *0.8.0: Zak McCracken and Loom16 completable *0.9.0: Bugfixes and CMI completable *1.0.0: The end of the beginning Obviously this is a very rough outline, and is subject to change if we suddenly make a break-through in a game. But this is just to give people a basic idea of where we are going. CMI support will be the hardest, as it is quite drastically different compared to the versions of SCUMM we have been dealing with to this point. Happy adventuring!
**Update: The text of the letter, and the teams response, can be found [in the scummvm-devel list archives](https://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?thread_id=837277&forum_id=7223)** Today was a milestone for the ScummVM project, as we finally received the long-awaited for e-mail from LucasArts Legal regarding the project. Thankfully, they do not yet appear to have a valid complaint. Their message requesting the removal of the site is based on the presumption that we are distributing LucasArts own engine on this site. Of course, ScummVM is a fully original work based equally on reverse engineering and original decoding work by many different people in the community, so this request doesn't really affect us. We're safe for the moment, and will continue to work on bringing the wonderful classics of the LucasArts company to your computing devices for, hopefully, a long time to come!
Well people, we are still alive so far. We are currently talking to LucasArts to see if we can negotiate a deal. To be honest, while we hope it is possible, we are dubious that the deal LucasArts may provide can give us certain freedoms we need to develop. One of the biggest fears of most companies is the GPL (General Public License). Some companies feel this gives users far too much latitude in use of their software. Unfortunately, if LEC feels the same way, we may have to reject their offer. It is close on impossible to relicense GPLed software, as it would mean getting permission from anyone who ever wrote even one line of code included in ScummVM. So far most of our communication has been off-the-record and fairly vague, but be assured we haven't vanished, and we'll give you the latest news as it happens! Also, thanks to people donating. We are currently at a little over $100, which is tagged to be spent on both buying versions of games for testing, and also saving up to our target of $300 to purchase a copy of IDA Pro, arguably the best disassembler on earth. Keep donating :)
Good afternoon people. I know it's been a long time since you have heard from me, and you may be wondering why I called you hear today. I have heard rumors the project is dead, and I would like to assure everyone that's not so. We have been working very hard lately, and many bugfixes have been made to various games. In fact, we are almost ready for another release.... but we are waiting for a resolution to our Legal Drama before that happens. So, what is happening on the legal front? Well, our erstwhile project leader (James 'Ender' Brown) has had many phone conferences with LucasArts, and we should shortly be announcing an agreement that will make both parties happy. I would like to thank LEC for being open to helping keep the project alive, instead of just forcing us to shut down. Hopefully within the next week, news of our future will be announced. Until then, keep donating, and keep telling everyone how much you love ScummVM. Remember, it's not people saying 'LucasArts SUX' that will convince them to keep helping the project... it's people saying 'ScummVM Rules' that will!
Ladies, Gentleman, Three headed monkeys, and alien mindbenders... lend me your ears. Firstly, an update on our legal negotiations with LucasArts. We are hopefully very close to finalising our arrangement, and sometime in the next week hope to make an announcement regarding this. Of course, we had hoped to make an announcement a good month ago. Unfortunately things are rather busy at LucasArts, so it has taken a while to talk to the relevant people. On another note, I would like to address something that comes up at least once a week. No, ScummVM is not currently in any kind of position to start supporting OTHER non-SCUMM games. The inclusion of Simon support aside, the current team has far too much on their hands trying to complete support for existing LucasArts classic adventures. Although we may add support for other games in the future, we do not currently plan on it... and any requests to do so will be promply ignored. Unless it is accompanied by a donation of money over $2,000. Meanwhile, we would suggest asking for help at the wonderful [VOGONS](http://vogons.zetafleet.com/) (Very Old Games on New Systems) site if you require help with other games on modern operating systems. Anyway, that's all for the moment. Donations have been rather non-existant lately, so if you haven't already, please consider using the PayPal button under the menu on the left... and send us some cash. Currently we are using donations for legal costs, and purchasing software (such as a copy or three of [IDA Pro](http://www.datarescue.com/), as well as games some of our developers may not already have).
At 16:57 (GMT), on September 17th... I - ScummVM - will officially be a year old! Unfortunately, nobody told me when my birthday was, they told me I was an orphan! But I'm going to try and throw a party anyway. So everyone is invited to attend my IRC channel, #scummvm, on irc.freenode.net! If you're someone famous, or you like me, or whatever, and you want to pop in and say 'Hi!' to me and my [parents](http://www.scummvm.org/contact.php)... come on by! Or if you just want to send me a birthday card, or RSVP for the party, go over to the Contact page and e-mail Endy or someone else. Or post in my new shiny [Birthday Forum](https://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=210596). We should be around pretty much all day. If you want to actually meet a ScummVM developer in real life, and buy him (I don't have a mummy! Wahh!) a beer or something.... you can always drop a post in the [Birthday Forum](https://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=210596) and see if there's anyone else in your area. I'm sure they would appreciate it! Oh, and I lost a small, fleece sweater with three blue roses on it. If you see it, please commit it to CVS for me!
And now, for our semi-annual news update! The legal situation is still pending, as we are waiting on a response from LucasArts to our last e-mail. Progress-wise, people following the daily build will have noticed the new in-game GUI we have implemented. It's still very much a work in progress, so expect odd things to happen. Some of our wonderful developers are currently working on improving compatibility with The Dig and Full Throttle, as it seems we might even get one of these completable by the time the legal situation is resolved and we can get our next release out. Meanwhile, the CVS tree and daily builds are somewhat in an experimental form. On to other matters, we are seeking mercenaries to kidnap two people so we can torture them into revealing the two current 'problem areas' in ScummVM. We need the person who primarily extended iMUSE for Sam and Max Hit The Road. Pretty much every remaining bug with ScummVMs support of that game is related to the iMUSE system, so if anybody can 'acquire' a person or any information on this subsystem, please contact [Ender](mailto:scummvm@enderboi.com) to arrange discrete delivery of the... package. Secondly, we require [Vince Lee](http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,1526/) for questioning over the INSANE cutscene engine used in games such as Full Throttle. Our lack of information on this system has left us at a dead-end as far as progress in this game goes. If you can acquire this person, or any information regarding INSANE, you will be well rewarded. Anonymity will be honored, if the 'acquiree' desires it. As an alternative, we can negotiate a deal if someone wishes to raid LucasArts HQ and persuade it's occupants to part with source or information regarding this two items. Our own attempts as infiltration of this facility have failed, due to some mysterious person called "Management". Seriously, if anybody does have any information on these two headaches for us, please get in touch with [Ender](mailto:scummvm@enderboi.com). If you've previously worked at LucasArts and wish to help anonymously, we'll respect that. I wouldn't be too afraid about giving assistance, as our own negotiations have revealed they are quite willing to let us exist, they are just not willing ('at the moment') to share any actual information or source. Thanks for playing, and remember - "never pay more than 20 bucks for a computer game"!
A message was recently posted to the scummvm development list detailing the current status of ScummVM, including things such as details on where we are heading for our next release, and an update on the legal situation. Here's a link to the [State of the SCUMM e-mail](http://www.scummvm.org/status.php)
