History UnwinnableByMistake / Sierra

While Creator/{{Sierra}} is better known for [[UnwinnableByDesign/{{Sierra}} screwing players over]] deliberately, there are also some programming oddities that will just as easily stop players cold, especially if they're trying to run these games on faster computers.
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[[AC:King's Quest]]
* Although ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVIIThePrincelessBride'' is the only game in the series not to be UnwinnableByDesign, there is one bit that breaks the game on newer, faster computers. At one point, you have to pick up a lit firecracker and quickly put it to use before it explodes right in your pocket. However, being designed for slower machines, on a modern computer it may explode near instantaneously.
** However, You RespawnOnTheSpot, so you can still make it if you just keep walking between deaths as can be seen in [[https://youtu.be/ao4f2HFH_uU?t=2m30s this video.]]

[[AC:Space Quest]]
* Due to a spot of bad programming, a timer at the end of ''VideoGame/{{Space Quest IV|Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers}}'' runs based on hardware speed. Nowadays, it can take less than a second.
** So is the zombie/robot timer at the beginning, in some versions. On modern computers, either shows up the moment you arrive where they ''can'' show up.
** An antidote is available for computer-savvy hardware-speed timers: UsefulNotes/DOSBox. Just use this with an appropriately low number: @@cycles=auto limit ...@@
** ''VideoGame/{{Space Quest II|Vohauls Revenge}}'' has a similar bug when Roger swims through a pond.
* ''VideoGame/{{Space Quest VI|Roger Wilco in the Spinal Frontier}}'' has the infamous "Error 47" bug, which freezes the game when using the [=ComPost=] in sickbay. This was eventually traced to a timer problem, but unlike the other instances, many computers available at the time of release had this problem. It wasn't fixed until fan-made patches were released several years later.

[[AC:Gold Rush]]
* ''VideoGame/GoldRush'' has a timer problem opposite of the usual: The faster your computer, the slower a hidden timer runs. It means that even on a computer as slow as 1998 speeds, the realtor at the beginning never shows up in any reasonable amount of time, and as a number of events in the game are timer-based, getting past one only increases your frustration at the others. (Setting the game speed to "slowest" makes the timer run faster, so it's passable if you know about this glitch.)

[[AC:Quest for Glory]]
* Upon first meeting Baba Yaga in ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryI'', you get hit with a quest to retrieve some mandrake root by sunrise the next day, or you die. The only time it is possible to get the mandrake root is at midnight from the cemetery, which is haunted at night. If you don't have either the Undead Unguent or sufficient funds to be able to buy some before nightfall, you're stuck between being killed by the ghosts or killed by Baba Yaga. You are at least warned several times not to mess with Baba Yaga (so you should be savvy enough to at least save the game ''before'' you meet her the first time).
* In ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryII'', if you don't have all the requisite spells for WIT, beating Erasmus' trial leaves you permanently stuck, presumably because it's waiting for an answer to a question it hasn't asked, and which you can't answer.
* In importing a magic user from ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryII'' to the third game, players are given the chance to make them paladins. These players must think of buying the throwing skill (or have the forethought of [[spoiler:wishing for it from the djinn at the end of the second game]]). Lacking the throwing skill makes the game unwinnable if you are a paladin -- winning a throwing challenge against Uhura is needed for the Leopardman prisoner event to occur. (An unconverted mage can earn a staff to trigger the event, but a paladin can't.) This only affects paladins who were mages; former fighters and thieves already have throwing.
** Likewise, it's possible to import a character as a mage, even if they were formerly a fighter or thief and never bought the magic skill. At least a little magic is required in order to solve some mage-mandatory puzzles. Of course, in any case, the game tries to persuade you away from changing your class on import if you didn't earn it (as with becoming a paladin).
* ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV'' has an insidious bug which causes the game to crash on faster computers when the player enters the screen with the Chernovy. This makes it impossible to fight the Chernovy, which you must do to beat the game. (There are third-party solutions, like running the game under UsefulNotes/DOSBox or using a program to slow down your computer.)
** There's also the Domovoi conversation. If you didn't talk with the inn domovoi by midnight of Day 5, then you won't be able to get the doll out of the cabinet because [[GameBreakingBug it will have mysteriously disappeared.]] You need the doll to give to Tanya later.
** Paladins can learn special "honor" abilities, such as the ability to sense danger, getting a protective honor shield in combat, and so on. One of the abilities is a Healing ability, which uses stamina to restore health. Because of the mechanics of the game, this counts as a magic spell, but the player is required to have at least 5 points in Magic to access the spell list, resulting in the game giving the player 5 points in Magic and access to the spell list. However, ''this also makes the Paladin a Wizard'', and it's possible to cause all ''sorts'' of unusual, potentially game-breaking problems by suddenly solving your problems with magic instead of strength and honor the way the game intended. For example, if you do this early enough (difficult at best, but possible), instead of getting the undead protection amulet from the gypsies, you'll get the Aura spell, which costs more mana points than you can reasonably have to cast!
** In all fairness, there are about fifty of these in ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV'' - it has to be one of the buggiest games made by Sierra. There's even one that shows up at the very end of the game -- after you have beaten the final boss -- if you are playing a Wizard, then the game will often give you the message that you are too busy to cast a spell right now, which prevents you from casting the game-winning spell[[note]]Hint: cast the same spell you just cast before ([[spoiler:Force Bolt]]) at nothing, ''then'' cast the game-winning spell to avoid this bug[[/note]].
* Not necessarily ''unwinnable'', but playing as a Wizard in ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryV'' changes the point list so that you get points from learning new spells, as per usual for the series. One of the spells is on a Centaur Wizard in the second Rite of Rulership, but the Centaur is protected by a Reflect spell, meaning that you can't damage him directly and have to rely on the Frost Bite spell (which is an area effect spell) to hurt him. The issue is if you imported your character from the fourth game: you learned Frost Bite in the last game, giving you a minimum skill level of 100. The minimum skill level in the fifth game is 200, and Frost Bite has a prohibitively high mana cost, meaning you're not likely to try to boost it. But if your skill isn't high ''enough'' (in the 300-400 range), then the Centaur Wizard won't take enough damage from your spell: he'll teleport after getting hit and regenerate the miniscule damage you inflict. Your only choice to win at that point is [[spoiler: casting Trigger on his magic staff, making it explode]] and killing him instantly...which prevents you from ever getting the Augment spell and full points.

[[AC:Gabriel Knight]]
* Much like many other entries on this page, [[VideoGame/GabrielKnight Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers]] has an event that runs based on the speed of your hardware. Gabriel can persuade a beignet vendor to hang around outside a police station, which distracts the cops long enough for him to sneak into someone's office... except on any modern computers, the police will return from the beignet vendor in a matter of seconds, making it completely impossible to finish the game.

[[AC:Leisure Suit Larry]]
* In ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry2LookingForLoveInSeveralWrongPlaces'', a programmer fixed one error, but accidentally caused another one by defining "bag" as a verb. That means that, in the last puzzle, you can't say "Put bag in bottle", which causes Larry to throw the bottle into the volcano without lighting it on fire, making the game unwinnable. You have to specify the bag. "The bag", "brown bag" and "airsick bag" are all acceptable, just "bag" is not.
* In ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry3PassionatePattiInPursuitOfThePulsatingPectorals'', there is a bit where you need to lift weights in order to buff up. Now, here is the thing: For unfathomable reasons, the amount of lifts are based on the processing power of your computer. In 1989, you needed to do a leisurely 25 push-ups. On a modern computer, without a mod, it can easily go into the thousands. "Use the cursor keys until you work up a sweat" indeed.
* ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry5PassionatePattiDoesALittleUndercoverWork'': An UnwinnableByDesign occurs if you forget to write down the numbers of the various limousine companies you must call throughout the game at the single time they're shown in each location. This leads to an UnwinnableByMistake: At one location, you can call a different "green card" limo company instead of the regular one, but when you want to return, they won't pick up; only the regular limo can take you back to the airport. If you only wrote down the green card number assuming they could return you, you'll never be able to get back. Worse, because viewing the real limo company number is a flagged event, failing to view it makes the scenario unwinnable even if you use a guide to get the correct number (with Sierra's stock "Oops!" error).
** If the player fails to have Patti pick up both DataPaks in the FBI Labs then they can use the taxi to travel to the first location but can't take travel to the other location as they don't have the address. There's also no way to return to the FBI lab to get the other DataPak.

[[AC:Police Quest]]
* While later Sierra games tried (and failed!) to avoid unwinnable situations, many contained game-stopping bugs that caused them. For example, at least one version of ''Daryl Gates' Police Quest: Open Season'' had a {{game breaking bug}} or programming oversight in which, if you failed to show the bone to SID on Day 3 before you gave it to the coroner, then the final scene of the day with the reporters at the morgue would fail to happen, which would make the game Unwinnable. Other {{Game Breaking Bug}}s could cause the game to crash on the map screen at the beginning of a day (it would happen every time with the saved game).
* ''[[VideoGame/PoliceQuest Police Quest III]]'' had the "endless highway" glitch: if you stopped a speeder or other criminal on the freeway near the "end of your jurisdiction", instead of turning around afterwards, you would get stuck in an infinite stream of stoplights. Hope you have an extra saved game.
** ''Police Quest III'' had another problem on the highway. On the first day, you are sent to handle a crazy man in the park. After doing so, you can return to the police station and advance the game to the next day. However, you will eventually hit a brick wall where you can no longer progress. This is because, after arresting the crazy man, you were supposed to patrol the highway and give out several tickets, kicking off a series of events that allowed you to steal your partner's locker key.

[[AC:The Adventures Of Willy Beamish]]
* When trying to get your frog back from Chef Childish, the puzzle is on a timer based on your system speed. On faster computers, it is impossible to complete this puzzle without running Dosbox or Moslo.
* The fire hydrant puzzle has a similar problem. If your computer is too fast, the bullies will be upon you before you can turn the hydrant on.
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** In all fairness, there are about fifty of these in ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV'' - it has to be one of the buggiest games made by Sierra. There's even one that shows up at the very end of the game -- after you have beaten the final boss -- if you are playing a Wizard, then the game will often give you the message that you are too busy to cast a spell right now, which prevents you from casting the game-winning spell[[note]]Hint: cast the same spell you just cast before ([[spoiler: Force Bolt]]) at nothing, ''then'' cast the game-winning spell to avoid this bug[[/note]].

** Paladins can learn special "honor" abilities, such as the ability to sense danger, getting a protective honor shield in combat, and so on. One of the abilities is a Healing ability, which uses stamina to restore health. Because of the mechanics of the game, this counts as a magic spell, but the player is required to have at least 5 points in Magic to access the spell list, resulting in the game giving the player 5 points in Magic and access to the spell list. However, ''this also makes the Paladin a Wizard'', and it's possible to cause all ''sorts'' of unusual, potentially game-breaking problems by suddenly solving your problems with magic instead of strength and honor the way the game intended.

* In importing a magic user from ''QuestForGloryII'' to the third game, players are given the chance to make them paladins. These players must think of buying the throwing skill (or have the forethought of [[spoiler:wishing for it from the djinn at the end of the second game]]). Lacking the throwing skill makes the game unwinnable if you are a paladin -- winning a throwing challenge against Uhura is needed for the Leopardman prisoner event to occur. (An unconverted mage can earn a staff to trigger the event, but a paladin can't.) This only affects paladins who were mages; former fighters and thieves already have throwing.

** In all fairness, there are about fifty of these in ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV'' - it has to be one of the buggiest games made by Sierra. There's even one that shows up at the very end of the game -- after you have beaten the final boss -- if you are playing a Wizard, then the game will often give you the message that you are too busy to cast a spell right now, which prevents you from casting the game-winning spell.

* Much like many other entries on this page, [[VideoGame/GabrielKnight Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers]] has an event that runs based on the speed of your hardware. Gabriel can persuade a hot dog vendor to hang around outside a police station, which distracts the cops long enough for him to sneak into someone's office... except on any modern computers, the police will return from the hot dog vendor in a matter of seconds, making it completely impossible to finish the game.

* Not necessarily ''unwinnable'', but playing as a Wizard in ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryV'' changes the point list so that you get points from learning new spells, as per usual for the series. One of the spells is on a Centaur Wizard in the second Rite of Rulership, but the Centaur is protected by a Reflect spell, meaning that you can't damage him directly and have to rely on the Frost Bite spell (which is an area effect spell) to hurt him. The issue is if you imported your character from the fourth game: you learned Frost Bite in the last game, giving you a minimum skill level of 100. The minimum skill level in the fifth game is 200, and Frost Bite has a prohibitively high mana cost, meaning you're not likely to try to boost it. But if your skill isn't high ''enough'', then the Centaur Wizard won't take enough damage from your spell: he'll teleport after getting hit and regenerate the miniscule damage you inflict. Your only choice to win at that point is [[spoiler: casting Trigger on his magic staff, making it explode]] and killing him instantly...which prevents you from ever getting the Augment spell and full points.

* Upon first meeting Baba Yaga in ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryI'', you get hit with a quest to retrieve some mandrake root by sunrise the next day, or you die. The only time it is possible to get the mandrake root is at midnight from the cemetery, which is haunted at night. If you don't have either the Undead Unguent or sufficient funds to be able to buy some before nightfall, you're stuck between being killed by the ghosts or killed by Baba Yaga.

** However, you respawn in the spot you died, so you can still make it if you just keep walking between deaths as can be seen in [[https://youtu.be/ao4f2HFH_uU?t=2m30s this video.]]

[[AC: King's Quest]]
* Although ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVII'' is the only game in the series not to be UnwinnableByDesign, there is one bit that breaks the game on newer, faster computers. At one point, you have to pick up a lit firecracker and quickly put it to use before it explodes right in your pocket. However, being designed for slower machines, on a modern computer it may explode near instantaneously.

[[AC: Space Quest]]

[[AC: Gold Rush]]

[[AC: Quest for Glory]]

[[AC: Gabriel Knight]]

[[AC: Leisure Suit Larry]]
* In Leisure Suit Larry 2, a programmer fixed one error, but accidentally caused another one by defining "bag" as a verb. That means that, in the last puzzle, you can't say "Put bag in bottle", which causes Larry to throw the bottle into the volcano without lighting it on fire, making the game unwinnable. You have to specify the bag. "The bag", "brown bag" and "airsick bag" are all acceptable, just "bag" is not.
* In Leisure Suit Larry 3, there is a bit where you need to lift weights in order to buff up. Now, here is the thing: For unfathomable reasons, the amount of lifts are based on the processing power of your computer. In 1989, you needed to do a leisurely 25 push-ups. On a modern computer, without a mod, it can easily go into the thousands. "Use the cursor keys until you work up a sweat" indeed.
* ''[[VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry Leisure Suit Larry 5]]'': An UnwinnableByDesign occurs if you forget to write down the numbers of the various limousine companies you must call throughout the game at the single time they're shown in each location. This leads to an UnwinnableByMistake: At one location, you can call a different "green card" limo company instead of the regular one, but when you want to return, they won't pick up; only the regular limo can take you back to the airport. If you only wrote down the green card number assuming they could return you, you'll never be able to get back. Worse, because viewing the real limo company number is a flagged event, failing to view it makes the scenario unwinnable even if you use a guide to get the correct number (with Sierra's stock "Oops!" error).

[[AC: Police Quest]]

[[AC: The Adventures Of Willy Beamish]]

[[AC: Codename: Iceman]]
* On one occasion you need to obtain two items by winning them in the Yahtzee dice game. The trick is that authors incorporated the 'anti-cheating' solution that allows your opponent to accept the game only limited number of times (and calling you a cheater later), thus rendering the save-restore method useless. There is no other way to obtain the items, so if the player character loses all his money, he must start the game over from the beginning. The real kicker? The game does not recognize the straight, so betting a straight against a pair means losing a round.

* Much like many other entries on this page, [[VideoGame/GabrielKnight Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father]] has an event that runs based on the speed of your hardware. Gabriel can persuade a hot dog vendor to hang around outside a police station, which distracts the cops long enough for him to sneak into someone's office... except on any modern computers, the police will return from the hot dog vendor in a matter of seconds, making it completely impossible to finish the game.

* In importing a magic user from ''QuestForGloryII'' to the third game, players are given the chance to make them paladins. These players must think of buying the throwing skill (or have the forethought of [[spoiler:wishing for it from the djinn at the end of the second game]]). Lacking the throwing skill makes the game unwinnable if you are a paladin -- winning a throwing challenge against Uhura is needed for the Leopardman prisoner event to occur. (An unconverted mage can earn a staff to trigger the event, but a paladin can't.) This only affects paladins who were mages; former fighters and thieves already have throwing.
** Likewise, it's possible to import a character as a mage, even if they were formerly a fighter or thief and never bought the magic skill. At least a little magic is required in order to solve some mage-mandatory puzzles. Of course, in any case, the game tries to persuade you away from changing your class on import if you didn't earn it (as with becoming a paladin).

* In Leisure Suit Larry 3, there is a bit where you need to lift weights in order to buff up. Now, here is the thing: For unfathomable reasons, the amount of lifts are based on the processing power of your computer. In 1989, you needed to do a leisurely 25 push-ups. On a modern computer, without a mod, it can easily go into the thousands. "Use the cursor keys until you work up a sweat" indeed.
* In Leisure Suit Larry 2, a programmer fixed one error, but accidentally caused another one by defining "bag" as a verb. That means that, in the last puzzle, you can't say "Put bag in bottle", which causes Larry to throw the bottle into the volcano without lighting it on fire, making the game unwinnable. You have to specify the bag. "The bag", "brown bag" and "airsick bag" are all acceptable, just "bag" is not.

** In all fairness, there are about fifty of these in QuestForGloryIV - it has to be one of the buggiest games made by Sierra. There's even one that shows up at the very end of the game -- after you have beaten the final boss -- if you are playing a Wizard, then the game will often give you the message that you are too busy to cast a spell right now, which prevents you from casting the game-winning spell.

** An antidote is available for computer-savvy hardware-speed timers: DOSBox. Just use this with an appropriately low number: @@cycles=auto limit ...@@

* ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV'' has an insidious bug which causes the game to crash on faster computers when the player enters the screen with the Chernovy. This makes it impossible to fight the Chernovy, which you must do to beat the game. (There are third-party solutions, like running the game under DOSBox or using a program to slow down your computer.)

* In ''QuestForGloryII'', if you don't have all the requisite spells for WIT, beating Erasmus' trial leaves you permanently stuck, presumably because it's waiting for an answer to a question it hasn't asked, and which you can't answer.
* ''QuestForGloryIV'' has an insidious bug which causes the game to crash on faster computers when the player enters the screen with the Chernovy. This makes it impossible to fight the Chernovy, which you must do to beat the game. (There are third-party solutions, like running the game under DOSBox or using a program to slow down your computer.)

While Creator/Sierra is better known for [[UnwinnableByDesign/{{Sierra}} screwing players over]] deliberately, there are also some programming oddities that will just as easily stop players cold, especially if they're trying to run these games on faster computers.

* Due to a spot of bad programming, a timer at the end of ''[[SpaceQuest Space Quest IV]]'' runs based on hardware speed. Nowadays, it can take less than a second.

** ''[[SpaceQuest Space Quest II]]'' has a similar bug when Roger swims through a pond.
* ''[[SpaceQuest Space Quest VI]]'' has the infamous "Error 47" bug, which freezes the game when using the [=ComPost=] in sickbay. This was eventually traced to a timer problem, but unlike the other instances, many computers available at the time of release had this problem. It wasn't fixed until fan-made patches were released several years later.

** However, you respawn in the spot you died, so you can still make it if you just keep walking between deaths as can be seen in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao4f2HFH_uU this video.]]

* ''[[PoliceQuest Police Quest III]]'' had the "endless highway" glitch: if you stopped a speeder or other criminal on the freeway near the "end of your jurisdiction", instead of turning around afterwards, you would get stuck in an infinite stream of stoplights. Hope you have an extra saved game.
** ''Police Quest III'' had another problem on the highway. On the first day, you are sent to handle a crazy man in the park. After doing so, you can return to the police station and advance the game to the next day. However, you will eventually hit a brick wall where you can no longer progress. This is because, after arresting the crazy man, you were supposed to patrol the highway and give out several tickets, kicking off a series of events that allowed you to steal your partner's locker key.

* Although ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVII'' is the only game in the series to avert UnwinnableByDesign, there is one bit that breaks the game on newer, faster computers. At one point, you have to pick up a lit firecracker and quickly put it to use before it explodes right in your pocket. However, being designed for slower machines, on a modern computer it may explode near instantaneously.

* ''VideoGame/GoldRush'' has a timer problem opposite of the usual: The faster your computer, the slower a hidden timer runs. It means that even on a computer as slow as 1998 speeds, the realtor at the beginning never shows up in any reasonable amount of time. (Setting the game speed to "slowest" makes the timer run faster, so it's passable if you know about this glitch.)

* In Leisure Suit Larry 2, a programmer fixed one error, but accidentally caused another one by defining "bag" as a verb. That means that, in the last puzzle, you can't say "Put bag in bottle", which causes Larry to throw the bottle into the volcano without lighting it on fire, making the game unwinnable. You have to specify the bag. "The bag", "brown bag" and "airsick bag" are all acceptable, just "Bag" is not.