Space Quest IV is getting a second shot on the Amiga this time, the right way. Over 30 years after Sierra’s disastrous 1991 port, a fan-made OCS Enhanced remake is in the works for 2025, aiming to erase the bitter legacy and finally let Roger Wilco time-hop in pixel-perfect glory.
Space Quest IV’s original Amiga port was a disaster
When Space Quest IV first hit the Amiga in the early ’90s, it landed with all the grace of a CRT monitor falling down the stairs. While the MS-DOS version dazzled with VGA visuals and slicker animation, the Amiga edition was a technical letdown. Instead of embracing the Amiga’s powerful chipset, the game limped along with dithered colors, awkward scrolling, and no blitter support despite Sierra touting a 32-bit experience.
The backlash was brutal. Amiga players expected at least parity with their PC counterparts. What they got was a half-hearted conversion that looked and felt years behind. One fan summed up the experience with a scorched-earth quote: “Played for 10 minutes, vomited at the non-Amiga-worthy graphics, then obliterated my hard drive.” Harsh? Maybe. But it captured the mood.
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OCS Enhanced version aims to redeem Sierra’s failures
Fast forward to 2025, and Spanish developer Darasco, with support from the SCOP group, is doing what Sierra never did giving the Amiga a version of Space Quest IV that feels like a real port, not an afterthought.
This remake is being purpose-built for the original Amiga OCS chipset and isn’t just a reskin. It’s a full visual and performance overhaul that pulls directly from the best version of the game: the MS-DOS release. By reconstructing the original VGA art and adapting it for the Amiga’s capabilities, the team is injecting life back into a game that once felt DOA on Commodore’s hardware.
Custom tools, AI, and SCI engine hacking in play
To make it happen, Darasco is leveraging a combination of AI-assisted asset processing and custom tooling to wrangle the SCI engine Sierra’s proprietary system. This allows the team to faithfully translate high-fidelity backgrounds and animations into a format that works on vintage hardware without gutting the visual style.
They’re not just slapping on a new palette, they’re reworking the art with a focus on color richness, clarity, and authentic Amiga presentation. The goal is to make the game feel like it belongs on the platform, not like it got dragged over in a rush.
This fan remake could redefine Space Quest IV’s legacy
If all goes well, the 2025 OCS Enhanced version of Space Quest IV could become the definitive edition for Amiga fans one that erases the sour taste left by Sierra’s missed opportunity. And in doing so, it might finally give Roger Wilco a proper home on a system that was more than capable of handling his adventures.
It’s a late redemption, but a welcome one. Because some classics deserve better the second time around.
