Space Quest Timeline

This is a Timeline of the Space Quest and includes notes concerning time in the series.

Timeline

This is a timeline based on facts from various sources including the Space Question Companion.

1852

Smith and Wesson is founded (over a millenium before SQ1).

1984

Sierra discovers tapes with Roger's biography.

1987

Elvis tour.

2300

Radio Shock and Hz. So Good companies are founded.

2350

Ships destined to be antique are built in 24th and one half century (one would ultimately end up on Kerona).

2735

Summer; CDGIROMTV's is delivered.

2744

PermaBuns are produced, awaiting delivery to Galaxy Galleria mall in 299 years.

2803

November; Dandy Recipe Beamer's date of uplink.

2857

A ship lands on Kerona and begins collecting dust.

2870

Raems T. Quirk is born.

2886

The '86 Pleides GL is created?

2906

Roger boards the Arcada.

Roger Wilco was given a Arcada model builder for Christmas.

2907

Space Quest 1.

2908

Rumproast Droole is born.

Space Quest 2.

Quirk's fleet is destroyed by the destruction of the Asteroid of Doom. It took almost a century for Quirk to return to the Comfederation.

2957

The date the '57 Gateway Bell-Air was built?

2959

Clifford Crawford is born.

2970

Flo is born.

2989

Elmo Pug is born from a cloning tube.

3003

SQ3

The Two Guys form Andromeda become famous (mainly for ScumSoft games, but their history of work from Sierra in the distant past).

Roger travels back in time to planet Earth.

3008

Roger travels to the future from past Earth (hoping to have a six month vacation).

3009

Roger Wilco is interviewed by Flip Quasar for Space Piston Mazine, Vol. 2, Issue 2.

SQ4

Galactic Enquirer

Roger joins the Confederation about this time.

3010

SQ5

3033

Construction of the Information Super Highway begins.

3043

Galaxy Galleria is opened.

Two hit games came out including More Dull Kombat 2 and Beat the Crap out of the Encyclopedia Britannica Kid.

Ursula K. LeGuiness Stout, a perenially popular refreshment becomes the winner of the Nebuale award.

Quimn Broom Works begins producing a line of brooms.

Snarkgurgle Snuffleslurple is looking for a Food Server at the Monolith Burger, Galaxy Galleria.

Roger Wilco cheats on Zondra of the Latex Babes.

Popular Janitronics publishes its December issue.

SQ6

3044

Roger Wilco travels from the past to the era of Space Quest X: Latex Babes of Estros. He is captured by the Latex Babes.

Roger Wilco visits the Galaxy Galleria mall one week following the one year anniversery of the Grand Opening of the Galaxy Galleria mall.

c. 3081

Roger Jr. is born.

3093

Roger is a senile old man

c. 3097

Vohaul infects the Super Computer.

c. 3100

SQXII ('centuries after SQ1 era or just before')

6345

Initial predicated date that information superhighway would be finished.

9345

Second predicated date that information superhighway would be finishe (Sometime after the prediction was made development was cancelled).

18453

Borth pass the Be Kind to Dumb Animals Act.

c. 4 Billion Years

Gidget goes supernova.

Notes

According to the official Space Quest Companion the series is said to be based on his actual adventures in the future (though the references to time travel may confuse the issue somewhat);

"Here's a big, big hello from the future. Your future. And while a lot of the future is already my past, a lot of my past is still my future. And I'd like to keep it that way. Time travel can sometimes be so confusing, especially when you really don't know what you're doing. There is an old saying, ancient beyond galactic reckoning, that asserts that some beings strive to attain greatness, while other have greatness thrust upon them. I'm Roger Wilco, Space Ranger, hero of Xenon, rescuer of the galaxy, savior of the universe - and probably all of Time and Space as we know it"

-Roger Wilco, A Message From Beyond Time and Space

There are numerous references to various years (and even a Space Quest version of the stardate in Space Quest 5, the most Trek-inspired game in the series), but they don't seem to be consistent.

On the one hand, it can be frustratingly confusing. Yet, on the other hand, it adds an odd sense of realism - it's quite likely that different races at different places would have developed different calendars and time-keeping systems and in reality, creating a universal standard system would be an enormously difficult task, so most likely they either haven't got around to it yet or found it too overwhelming and just gave up.

Anyhoo, this page is here to list all references to any specific spots in time that can be found throughout the series.

The Space Quest Companion

• Smith and Wesson had been manufacturing premium weapons for over a millenium (this is the closest to a approximate date when SQ1 takes place, over thousand years after the founding of the real life company).
• According to The Space Quest Companion, at least one of the Two Guys admits they are from the future (or at least claims to be).
• Roger mentions he sent his journal back into the past to 1984 on Terra III to Sierra Online telling about himself. This journal is used by the Two Guys and becomes the basis for the video game series and the games released by sierra.
• During Space Quest III Roger travelled back in time through the black hole reaching Earth in the past.
• Copies of the video games will later be dug up on Terra III and Roger learns about them.
• Roger Wilco had been on the Arcada for over half a year.
• Space Quest II starts about a year after the first game.
• SQ3-5 take place about a century after SQ1/2. Roger had been in ColdSleep storage after escaping the Asteroid of Doom and being picked up the Gar'bage freighter. Arnoid had been hunting for Roger for nearly a century. Beatrice knows of Roger saving Xenon nearly a century before. Roger hadn't payed off his debt in 'over a century', so WD40 was sent after him.
• The Galaxy Galleria was opened a year and a week before SQX. During the era of SQ4 (and possibly SQ5) it hadn't been built yet.

Space Quest I VGA

• A space ship in SQ1 VGA says that a ship is an antique from the twenty fourth and a half century (a nod to Duck Dodgers).
• The sand skimmer is a '86 Pleides GL.
• One of the ships has been on the planet for about fifty years collecting dust.
• The don't touch button leads to the Dark Ages near Nottingham Castle.

Space Quest III

• Elmo Pug has his 14th birthday.

Space Quest IV

• The space piston magazine makes references to several points in history, including various points of earth history. The 'present' for the issue seems to be largely focused around SQX era (judging by all the references to Galaxy Galleria mall), although Roger is interviewed during the SQ4 era (a time traveling interview apparently).
• Three years passed between the time the Supercomputer was activated on Xenon and the time that Sludge Vohaul was installed on the computer via a Leisure Suit Larry disk.
• Radio Shock/Hz So Good catalogue mentions 24th century, Summer 2735 and November 2803.
• The PermBuns are 299 years old.
• Roger Jr. was born 19 years before SQ12.
• It is suggested in a few places that Space Quest XII may take place hundreds of years after SQI era., and it's been decades since Roger was last on Xenon.
• Eau de Water Buffalo went out style epics ago.
• prehistoric Florida, 12th century, 19th Century
• Sally Farnsworth writes about missing issues eight years after the "current issue".
• Seymour Nebulas subscription runs 11 years after 'current issue'
• Space Piston magazine begins using flux protected wrappers 12 years after 'current issues'.
• The einsteins write about 17 months from the current issue.
• Smokey sold his dad a hogpod 2 months before the current issue.
• Gidget goes nova in about 4 billion years from current issue.
• Roger wanted to go on vacation for six months.

Space Quest V

• The Galactic Inquirer is a Feb. 15, 3009 issue.
• Gir Draxon makes predictions for the year 3010.
• In Borth time, a there was a Be Kind to Dumb Animals Act of 18453.
• The Inquirer was published about a week to a year before the events of the game, it talks about Abassador Wankmeister being scheduled to testify with her evidence of the sludge bandits before a StarCon judiciary subcommitee "next week". In Gir Draxon's predictions the "shake up" and turning a janitor into a scapegoat would occur in 3010.
• The Inquirer claims that the Two Guys "rocketed onto the scene six years ago."
• The Main Rotunda of the StarConf Academy was dedicated on stardate 09-2097.27.
• In the intro, the stardate 2709.67 is mentioned in the simulator.
• The logs on Klorox II were written on stardate 3012.68, 3015.68, 3016.68, and 3017.68.
• The Genetix computer has a bios made by Scumsoft, Inc, Stardated 12.245.67.
• In the beta version of SQV, a computer at the Genetix labs lists many stardates in its logfiles, including, 3234.22, 3237.12, 3243.19, 3252.06, and 3263.11.

Space Quest 6

• History classes about the 20th Century is mentioned in the manual, and an in-game comment suggests its far in the future beyond the 20th Century..
• A sign at the Information Superhighway shows the estimated time of completion as 6345, where the first letter has been crossed out, gone from 6 to 9 and then just changed to "NEVER". This could either indicate that 1000 "years" passes rather quickly in Cyberspace (judging from the low decay) or that the number could be read backwards, in which case it would have just gone from 5436 to 5439.
• A shuttle is a '57 Gateway Bel-Air.
• Roger should have the knowledge of at least a second year cadet (However, he never made it beyond first-year.) This is a reference to SQ5 suggesting there was only a year from the time Roger entered the Academy and the end of SQ5.
• Popular Janitronics had a law suit two years before the 'current' December issue.
• Landfill diggers dig through 100 years of Twentieth Century landfills.
• The ATM card that Roger brought along from SQX also poses someb questions as it is said to be expired by SQ6. This has inspired some interesting theories.
• A poster mentions, "Elvis 1987"
• A comment is made that many of the humanoids in the galaxy had evolved from the humans of Earth.
• Country and western music was outlawed centuries ago in an attempt to reduce alcoholism.
• Novelty lamps that were all the rage a century or two ago.
• It has been a few years since Roger saw Fester Blatz.
• Old highway safety devices from ten years ago.
• Popular Janitronics had a lawsuit two years before the current issue.
• Nose Nuggets travel on vacation for 30,000 years, and then hibernate for 4,000.
• Two hit games came out a year before SQ6 including More Dull Kombat 2 and Beat the Crap out of the Encyclopedia Britannica Kid..
• ...earns the Nebulae reward a year before SQ6.
• Roger will be physically old and senile after he lives another 50 years.
• Galaxy Gallaria Mall appears to be open at this point in time, according to Popular Janitronics, and is requesting a Food Server (this could suggest that SQ6 occurs same year as SQX).
• Quimn Broom Works have been manufacturing quality broom since 3043. SQ6 would have to take place after this date (assuming its not a 'future time travel' reference).
• Construction of the information superhighway began approximately 10 years before SQ6.

Space Quest X

• The Radio Shock/Hz So Good Catalog refers to its products as "24th century electronics".
• CDGIROMTV's estimated delivery is mentioned as 2735.
• Dandy Recipe Beamer's estimated date of uplink is November, 2803.

The Official Guide to Roger Wilco's Space Adventures

The book gives no specific dates as to when Space Quest takes place, although there are a few comments made by Roger imply that the adventures take place in the distant future.

• Roger Wilco knew he wante dto be a janitor at the age of five.
• Roger Wilco was given a Arcada model builder for Christmas the year before SQ1.
• Xenon stopped dealing with Ronko Corporation months before SQ2.
• Roger Wilco wondered if he had been asleep in the escape pod for about one thousand years between Space Quest 2 and Space Quest 3, when he first awoke from his sleep.
• Roger wondered if he had been sent into the future a couple of hundred years in the SQ12 era.

Trivia

• Based on age given for Elmo Pug and references made in Space Quest Companion, Elmo Pug would be about 21 in Space Quest 6 (based on information in the Galactic Enquirer). He's obviously taking advatage of his new rights to consume alcohol!
• Captain Quirk also has history spanning at least a century. He apparently he suffered time dilation on his attempt to return to StarCon after the destruction of his Armada by the exploding Fortress of Doom, as he was only 38 at the time of SQ5.