Tobias Pfaff

Researcher. Game programmer. Stingray enthusiast.

Grim Mouse

Grim Mouse allows to play ‘Grim Fandango’ like a point-and-click adventure, instead of the original tank-style keyboard controls. The mod is based on the ResidualVM game engine, which means it will also run on Mac and Linux, not only on Windows as the original game. The game is now 100% playable with mouse only (bugs to be expected, though). Here is a preview:

As the game was never intended to be used with mouse control, and contains a lot of puzzles with non-standard controls, this required massive modifications of both ResidualVM and the game source. Therefore this mod is distributed independently from ResidualVM.

Installing Grim Mouse

Be aware that you may run into a bug at some point which might prevent you from finishing the game. Installing the mod works exactly like the original ResidualVM. In short:

  1. Copy all the files in the ‘grimdata’ folder of both Grim Fandango CDs into a folder on your hard drive. Overwriting duplicate files is fine.
  2. Download the original v1.1 patch (gfupd101.exe) from ResidualM’s homepage and put it into the same folder.
    • Mac: Mount (double-click) the .dmg file, and drag the residualvm icon into /Applications
    • Windows: Extract the contents of the .zip file into any folder on your hard disk
  4. Start Grim Mouse / ResidualVM
  5. Click ‘Add Game’ and navigate to your gamedata folder from Step 1. The screen should say “Grim Fandango Windows/English”. That’s ok, even if running it on Mac or Linux.
  6. Click ‘OK’ and ‘Start’ -> you’re all set.

Download

Source code is available from my github page (‘mouse’ branch)

Controls

Most of the keyboard controls still work in the original manner; while the game should be playable 100% using the mouse only, if there are some puzzles which you prefer to solve using the old interface, you can do so.

New controls

  • Left-click : Walk and use. If you left-click on an object, it is used. If Manny is holding an inventory object, it is used on the scene object.
  • Double-click : Run and use. Same as single-click, except Manny will run to the object.
  • Right-click : Look at / Use inventory object on its own. Same as left-click, except Manny will look at an object instead of using it. If Manny is holding an inventory object, right-click will use it on its own (e.g. deck of cards, or fire extinguisher in Beaver Dam)
  • Middle-click (or I key): Open Inventory. If Manny is holding an object, he will put it away. Left-click within the inventory selects an object, right-click will make Manny look at it.
  • Space key : Show all hotspots in the scene
  • Shift + Z : Toggle developer mode

Useful old controls

  • Alt+Enter : Toggle fullscreen mode
  • Arrow keys : Control Manny the old fashioned way
  • E,U,P,I : Examine, Use, Pickup, Inventory
  • F1 : Game Menu (for loading/saving)
  • Escape : Skip some cutscenes
  • . : Skip dialogue lines

Troubleshooting

Bugs are to be expected. Please report your bugs in the github issue tracker (preferred) or by email (verticalduck (at) gmail.com) if you don’t have a github account.

If you are stuck due to a bug and want to continue playing the game, you can try using the old controls to manouver out of broken boxes, or activating the developer mode with Shift+Z and teleport into an adjacent scene etc. (Check README.ResidualVM for the developer mode shortcuts)

Changelog

v0.7 (June 2014)
  • fixed beaver dam intro (#40)
  • merged in new ResidualVM main-line
v0.6 (June 2014)
  • hotspot fixes #35, #36 (Toto, cat photo)
  • poem dialog (#34)
v0.5 (May 2014)
  • Variable resolution (thanks to momomomo888!)
  • In-game menu now has mouse support
  • Fixed credits (#27), Beaver dam cut scene (#30)
  • Hotspot fixes #25, #26, #29 (Florist, Brennis, Sewers)
v0.4 (Apr. 2014)
  • Fixed height check (issue #16,#22)
  • Inventory bug fix (#10, thanks to Sparkash!)
  • Hotspot fixes #14,#15,#18,#19,#20,#21,#23,#24,#28 (Lighthouse, Sewers, Boobytrapped wagon, Beach, Chepito, Toto, Rag, Pumping tree)
v0.3 (Mar. 2014)
  • Fixed savegame bug (#3), this time for real (thanks Botje!)
  • Several Hotspot fixes: #5,#6,#7,#8 Rubacava circle, alley door, rooftop ladder, Maximino’s office
v0.2 (Mar. 2014)
  • Fixed wheelbarrow bug
  • Mac build should now run without additional libraries
  • Reorganized patches
v0.1 (Feb. 2014)
  • Initial Release