As you may have already noticed, we are in the process of switching from our old trusty logo and icons to new, slightly revised versions. The main change is that the lowercase "s" has now become an uppercase "S" -- this is meant to help stop the confusion lots of people seem to have about our name: We are called "ScummVM", and not "scummvm" :-).

Besides that, the new logo was touched up by its original author, Jean-Marc, to produce higher quality versions (in PNG and SVG format) of both the logo and the icon. As a result, they look better and yummier than ever before.

We are not yet completely done converting everything to the new logo and icon (boy, they are really present in lots of places), but are actively working on it. The upcoming 1.0.0 release of ScummVM will be the first to feature the new art everywhere.

So, I hope you like the new art just as much as we do :-).

As all of you have probably heard, we are still in the testing phase for the 1.0.0 release. So far we have gotten many testings results, because of you, our fellow users. Thanks again to all the people who have already done testing for the next release. Sadly, we are missing some tests for certain games though. Here is the list of games for which we really need some testing results:

• The Manhole
• Rodney's Funscreen
• Elvira II - The Jaws of Cerberus
• Bargon Attack
• Goblins 3
• Bud Tucker in Double Trouble
• I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream
• Nippon Safes Inc.

If you own one of these games please grab a daily build of ScummVM and play through it. Submit any bugs you discover along the way to the bug tracker. When you complete a game, report it on the forums so we can add it to our release testing wiki page. Be sure to provide the version, language, and platform of the game you're testing (in addition to the name of course) as well as what platform you are testing on. You can find more details on testing over here.

As you can see on our release testing wiki page, almost all testing results are from our desktop ports. If you have ScummVM running on console or handheld ports we also ask you to test your games (not necessarily only the ones mentioned above) there as well, and report your results in the above mentioned way.

Did you hear about our plans for 1.0.0? This is going to be the best ScummVM release ever! And to make it even more remarkable, we have decided to put out a Release Candidate, which is awaiting you here.

It is a regular stable and supported release so don't let the name of 'Release Candidate' or 'RC1' throw you off. We have a release testing wiki page for the upcoming 1.0.0 release, which we would like to see turned into a mass of green indicating successful removal of any issues in the titles supported, and thus we need your help, our dear users of ScummVM. It would be really great to test as many games as possible on all varieties of platforms our project is ported to.

The list of changes which are prepared for you in this release is quite long. The highlights are:

• Added support for Discworld
• Added support for Discworld 2 - Missing Presumed ...!?
• Added support for Return to Zork
• Added support for Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2
• Added support for The Manhole
• Added support for Rodney's Funscreen
• Added support for Cruise for a Corpse
• Improved GUI vastly: added quick search, introduced per-game options, improved mass-add dialog
• Broken Sword 1 & 2 now run with original cutscenes
• Increased The 7th Guest microscope puzzle difficulty to match original
• Major improvements to PSP, PS2 and WinCE ports
• New port for GP2X Wiz handheld game console.

The full list of changes can be found in the NEWS file.

'Nuff said, so download ScummVM and be one step closer to 1.0.0.

James Woodcock, creator of the ScummVM Music Enhancement Project has recently released updated versions of previously available soundtracks reaching version 2.0, which include Simon the Sorcerer and Discworld.  Discworld can now be played with the latest SVN versions of ScummVM implementing James Woodcock's enhanced music.  Inherit the Earth, which comes under his 'Fan Creation Soundtrack' is a homage to the title and is now also downloadable from his personal website.

Available in High and Low bitrate versions, all three soundtracks are free to download and inspired by the original games and the ScummVM software.

"For many years, I have enjoyed the wonders of the ScummVM application allowing me to play many of my all time favourite point and click adventures.  The ScummVM Music Enhancement Project gives me the chance to inject a little part of my passion for this gaming genre, while giving the community the option of alternative music".  James Woodcock continues... "A big thank you to all who have contacted me via email, Twitter and IRC regarding my work and also of course to the original composers, developers and publishers of the titles I have covered and the ScummVM team, without who this would not have been possible!"

A preview of all three games running on ScummVM with James's music is demonstrated on this YouTube Playlist.

Change Log:

• Simon the Sorcerer v2.0
  All tracks have been individually tweaked through a new master compressor to increase overall quality of the music.
• Discworld v2.0
  Introduction music updated to emphasise the piano tracks, 7 previously missing tracks have now been added completing the soundtrack and the music is fully compatible with the latest ScummVM SVN builds for use within the title.

To find out more, make sure you visit his website or follow him on Twitter for new developments.