Hi. I am playing the original version of The New Adventures of the Time Machine on my one and only computer that plays that version. Problem is that this "original" version has one glitch - the character cannot climb certain boxes; he just keeps trying to move it, even though the box is already where it is supposed to be! Is there a patch for this problem? If so, please let me know as soon as possible. I should note that I really LOVE this game; but this glitch is the only thing that prevents me from enjoying it, every time I replay the game.

I am not positive, but I believe this may be a patch for the game:

Time Machine patch

And this is a reputable website for patches.

Thanks for the prompt reply, Marian. I really appreciate it. But is there any way to be sure? I mean that old computer, the only one that plays this game, is not attached to the Internet, has no anti-virus... But you did indicate it should be safe? But you have doubts that it will fix my particular problem?

What can you tell me about this patch? And what does it mean no-CD/DVD patch?

Hi Zurreen, I removed your link because it's a site that can promote piracy.

In your case, though, being as you have a legitimate copy of the game, that site can be used such that if you download the file, you won't need the CD/DVD in the drive to play the game. I don't know if a patch would be incorporated or not.

I am pretty confident that the link I provided above is indeed a patch for the game - I just wasn't positive, being as it said Time Machine and not The New Adventures of the Time Machine. If you have two computers, you could download the patch to your computer linked to the internet and then transfer it to the other machine.

I have used that site many times for patches and have never had any problems with it.

Piracy?! I thought it was just the download for the patch??? I thought "no cd" meant that the *patch* came without a cd, and could be directly installed. What DID it mean then??? Or is it just the site itself that promotes piracy? But then it can't be a safe site?

But, after posting my question, noticed they said the patch was for version 1.20 and higher. My cd says it is version 1.1 - as I said, when the game was first released. So the site is no good for me anyway, right? Because mine is the original version.

Also please let me know: WAS a later version of the game released that I can now buy from somewhere??? If so, it might be the version that has NO glitches at all!

Oh, one thing. I always BUY games and install them from a CD. Don't feel very comfortable downloading even patches, let alone games. I would rather get a patch directly from the developers but, in this case, DreamCatcher is gone now. So do please advise me of what site is safe, and any cautions I need to observe in downloading patches.

Thanks again for all your help!

I just downloaded the patch from the link above and the readme file says it is for the game from Cryo, which confirms that it is the patch that you need. The readme file also says that the update improves game play, so hopefully it will address your problem.

Oh, and no CD means that the game can be played without the original CD in the drive. Although that site that you posted has its uses for legitimate users, it is also used as a way of promoting piracy, and that is why we do not post links to it or similar websites here.

I don't know how many versions of the game were released.

Oh, thank you SO VERY MUCH!!! You're a Godsend indeed! And the patch you downloaded it's the one YOU recommended, right? The one you weren't sure about initially - one that said "Time Machine" only? I sure hope so because, now that you tell me about the site I'd posted about, I wouldn't want to use that at all. In fact, that was why I'd pasted the link, to get your thoughts on it. I just don't like to go to, let alone use, ANY sites with ANY dubious/nefarious dealings. If you associate with thieves, you might be mistaken for one yourself, you know, even though you were actually a legitimate user!!!

And, yes, I can't play my game without a CD at all. The game came with 2 CDs, one of which was clearly marked and is required as the Play cd.

Yes, I downloaded the patch that I recommended initially and took a look at the files. You are most welcome for the help. I hope the patch makes the game more playable for you.

I hope so too. So I download the file on the computer connected to the Internet, copy it on a flash drive and then paste it on my old computer, and then just click on the file on my desktop to install the patch, right?

If you unzip the patch, you'll see it has a bunch of files including a Setup.exe file in it.
Unzip the patch to a folder, then double-click the Setup.exe file to start the install of the patch.
Depending on what version of Windows you're using, you might have to run the Setup.exe of the patch as an Administrator.

Thanks, Jenny! As you might have read in my conversation with Marian, I have installed the game on an old computer that is NOT connected to the Internet, nor has any anti-virus. It's the only computer that plays my old games that I bought way back in 2001-2002! It's the FIRST version of XP. I *think* I might have had to use the compatibility mode, but it is the only computer I have that allows me to play The New Adventures of the Time Machine (version 1.1). Marian recommended downloading the file to the newer computer (the one connected to the Internet, of course)and *then* transfer the file to the old one that actually has the game installed on it. So I copy the zipped file on to a flash drive or cd, then paste it on (I would prefer the desktop of) the old computer, unzip it, and then double-click on the Setup.exe file *in* the unzipped folder, to install the patch?

PS. Sorry for the possible redundancy but, as I explained to Marian, I have always bought games in their original packages and am not too versed in downloading stuff. (Big Fish games is an exception, of course, since you can't get many of their games in stores anymore and the customer service has assured me that it is safe to pay for and download their games; and they *are* supposed to be reliable, of course - it's *their* games, after all!)

Once again, thank you so much for the help.

Okay, Marian, I downloaded the patch, but it was nothing like any patch I've dealt with before. For instance, the EIDOS tech had actually emailed me a patch file for the Thief game. But here, there was no single folder. Rather, a bunch of files. I had to make a folder myself, named it the Time Machine patch, and then specified that folder as the destination for the site to download the several files.

Is this how your own download experience of the patch went? A bunch of files, but no single zipped folder.

Please, let me know. Thanks.

What you want to do is this:

Download the file.
Then right click on it.
A menu will pop up, and choose: extract
Then a window will pop up asking where you want to extract the files to, and you will want to navigate to the folder where you have the New Adventures of the Time Machine installed. That path should show in the window box before you proceed.
Then say "yes," and the files will be extracted into your Time Machine folder.
Then open up the Time Machine folder and you will see a file that says "setup." Double click on that and a window will pop up to install the Time Machine 1.20 patch. Follow the prompts and then the game should be patched.

I actually went through these steps myself, but extracted the files to a test folder I created, being as I don't have the game installed. I clicked on the setup file and the window to install the patch popped up.

If I haven't explained this properly, hopefully someone else will be able to help you.

You can also try copying all of the files that you extracted over to your Time Machine folder, and then you can find the setup file, click on it, and install the patch.

I don't have this game. If Marian says you need to have the files in the Time Machine folder before running the patch Setup, she's probably right.

Some games were like that in the late 1990's to early 2000's -- you had to put the patches in the game folder before running them.

To be honest, I am not sure that the downloaded files *have* to be in the game folder, but due to my uncertainty I thought it best that Zurreen copy them all over into the game folder just to be on the safe side. It only takes a few moments to do this, and I wanted to make sure that the patch was successfully applied. There were several files in the download apart from the setup file. As you pointed out, Jenny, some games from the early 2000s and late 1990s required this.

Thanks, guys. But, Marian, that is not how it went when *I* tried the download. As I mentioned, the Time Machine game is actually installed on my old XP. And you suggested downloading it on the computer which is connected to the Internet (this one I am using right now - Win 7). When I clicked on download, it just gave me a whole bunch of files that I was supposed to "Extract." It also picked a default location - USERS (perhaps because the game is NOT installed On this computer). I had to make a new folder myself in order to make sure all the files would be in one place, and not all over my desktop (where I like to download patches and other temporary stuff, so I won't forget to delete them later). I was following your original suggestion - to later move the files to my old XP.

Now usually with patches (as I mentioned I worked directly with the developer EIDOS tech for Thief: The Dark Project), you download the patch OUT of the game folder, and then click on the Set Up file in the patch, which then modifies the game's own Set Up.Exe file. But if I move the files directly in the game's own folder, then won't the computer ask me whether I want to replace the game's own Setup.Exe with that of the patch, in which case it would not be actually installing the patch???

Also, I noticed you said that this patch you found is 1.20. I remember there was a warning on the site I had found (which we are NOT using now), and it said that there could be a problem if the patch is for a higher version than that of our game, and my game is Version 1.1. Now you guys - Marian *and* Jenny - are the experts. So please tell me whether it would be advisable to use this patch, given my obviously original version of the game???

Once again, thanks again, both you guys.

Btw: I have entered my email in both the internal and public spots in my profile, as suggested. But I am not getting any email notifications when you guys respond. This makes it a little difficult since I have to keep coming to this thread to see when and if you guys responded. How can I start getting email notifications any time anyone responds to my queries on any thread? In other words, how can I make it (or maybe YOU guys can set me up) so that I would get an email notification any time anyone responds to any of my queries (new or old)?

Thank you for all your help.

Click on Topic Options at the top of the topic and select Add Topic to Your Watched Topics.

Hi Zurreen, that warning you got on that other site was in reference to the no-CD patch, not the patch for the gameplay. I understand that might be confusing to some people, but that is what they are talking about. So, no worries there.

I would suggest that you don't copy the extracted files into the game folder - I took another look at the patch and don't think it's necessary. Just execute the setup file from where you have it now (in your folder somewhere along with the other files). A window will pop up asking you where you want to install it to, and just point it to your Time Machine folder.

Sorry I did not reply to your post sooner, but I had an internet outage lasting several hours. Hopefully it is now fixed for a good long while.

I haven't seen a game that copies it's "Setup.exe" to the game folder. Usually the "Setup.exe" is left on the game CD and is only used during installation. But as I said before I don't own this particular game.

If there is a "Setup.exe" file in the game folder, you can

• Temporarily rename the Setup.exe file in the game folder to Setup.exe.old (or some other name)
• Copy all the patch files to the game folder
• Run the patch's Setup.exe to do the patching
• Delete or rename the Setup.exe that belonged to the patch to something else.
• Rename the game's Setup.exe from Setup.exe.old (or whatever you called it) back to Setup.exe

A NoCD is only meant to allow you to play the game without the CD in the drive. On games as old as "New Adventures of the Time Machine" (year 2000), it has no effect whatever on gameplay glitches like "character cannot climb certain boxes; he just keeps trying to move it"

In later games from 2003 or later, there is something called "trigger functions" which deliberately introduces bugs into the game if the CD isn't detected properly. This happens with legitimate CD's, not just illegal downloads. There are multiple disc checks during the game, and the copy "protection" doesn't tell you it failed -- instead it glitches up your game. There are all kinds of reasons why fusspot disc-based copy "protections" fail to detect legitimate discs. Copy "protections" are far from perfect at detecting legitimate discs -- the discs themselves can be slightly off-spec or the CD drive can be spinning or reading slightly different from listed spec (well enough to read normal CD files but not well enough to consistently pass the copy "protection" checks). Even if you have a legitimately purchased game, if it fails the disc check, it's always assumed you are using an illegal download when the disc check fails. So not only do they take your money for a game that doesn't work, they call you a thief when you try to get help.

A NoCD can help you eliminate glitches caused by DRM "trigger functions." But as I said, this only applies to newer disc-based games than Time Machine -- and only to those infected with "trigger functions" (which was not all games).

NoCD's are very specific about versions. The patch at patches-scrolls.de that Marian linked to would not be so specific, or it would have been described appropriately.

Thank you, Jenny. I love the way you respond to questions with such comprehensive answers - I have learned so much over the years from reading your posts.

Me too !!

And the best bit is that Jenny100 always couches her replies (certainly to me, anyway) in terms that even the dunce that I am can understand

Thanks for the help, Marian. I hope the Internet outage *is* fixed for a good long while. Why the problem though? You are in CA, right? I thought we in Texas were the only ones having problems because of Harvey. So your outage must be related to something else, right?

Thanks, Jenny. But now you got me worried that the patch will not be helpful because my problem *is* climbing those boxes - at three locations actually: the one with the Sandscraper on it right of the washing machine area; the box we need to move and get up on to fix the washing machine; and the last (and most horrible!) one when Wales, as a boy, has to climb on *after* Ashamira helps them escape the prison.

Oh, but you've not played the game, so you probably don't know what I'm talking about...

Yes, my game is definitely legally purchased. Given as a birthday gift to me by my brother in late 2001, back when you could get these games in local stores and got then in huge cardboard boxes. The boxes were big, and the game itself would come in a jewel case with an instruction booklet. Remember those "good old days"?

Back to the patch question though: you don't think this patch will help me with my box-climbing problem? :(

Thanks, Draclvr (don't tell me you *really* love Dracula though ). So adding a topic to the Watched List will allow me to get an email notification any time someone answers or comments on my question?

Thanks again for the help.

Hi Zurreen, I have no idea why we had an outage, but I live in a secluded mountain area and I've come to accept it as one of those things.

The patch doesn't provide any description of what it does exactly, apart from it offering game-play improvements, so no way of knowing if it would help or not. It can't hurt to apply the patch anyway, though, as it might be useful for other things.

That was how it was when I first started playing games in 1999 -- big box with not much inside -- the jewel case with CD, and if you were lucky, a manual that was larger than the CD case.
But I bought some older early 1990's games on eBay, and some of those game boxes were chock full of interesting stuff.


I think the patch Marian linked to might help with it, assuming it's a bug.
But you might have to go back to an older save.
Some of the patches for these old games required that you go back to a previous location or even start the whole game over. I don't know if that's the case with this one.

There is a walkthrough here
https://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/250557-the-new-adventures-of-the-time-machine/faqs/19537
which says

I don't know the controls in this game, but if holding down the spacebar pushes the crate, maybe a quick tap has a different effect than holding the spacebar down.

Thanks again, Marian. And sure do envy your mountain location. Always wanted to live in such a place. Yes, might have outages of sorts, but sure is worth it, isn't it? Good for you!

And, why yes I DO love anything Dracula related! Books, games, just creepy stuff in general and have since I was a little girl a VERY long time ago!

Thanks, Jenny!

Thanks also for the walkthrough, but that part is not the problem. It's a box that comes later - when the hero and heroine get on top of the building, the hero cuts the rope tying two boxes, puts a board across two buildings, takes the box across the board, and then moves the box to the two on top of another - that's where the problem begins. :(

And, no, there is only one control both for moving and climbing, and that's the problem. I have played different tricks with the spacebar, without any luck. Even checked to see whether I could change the control setting, but you really don't have much of a choice for anything! The problem really is not the control but finding that one "sweet" hotspot where the hero will stop trying to move the box and just climb on it. :(

I have to tell you though this truly IS a great game, Jenny. I must have played it DOZENS of times, but still keep coming back to it. It's just those 3 boxes that I described that take the fun out of playing - for a while anyway until I overcome the problem, which is really just trying and trying and trying for hours sometimes until the hero accidentally steps on the hotspot. Can't even begin to tell you what a feeling it is when that finally happens! I save immediately, of course - praying that the game won't crash just as I click on ESC to do so, because such crashes also occur. It is an old game, after all.

I saw a YouTube walkthrough of the game though, and the guy seemed to be having NO problems at all. I also noticed a renewed interest in the game, and Googling indicated something about running the game on Win 7. Could you please check to see whether there is a newer version of the game, available legally from a legitimate site?

Thanks.

My brother does too - he loves horror stuff. Just "had" to watch "Annabelle: Creation."

Btw: Tried your suggestion, but when I clicked on the Topic at top, the only choices I got was New Reply, New Topic, Remove Topic from your Watched Topics(!), and Print Topic. So nothing about adding this topic. In fact that Remove option suggests this is already a watched topic. But still get no email notifications for any responses I get... :(

Here's some information from the FAQ (which you can find at the top of the forum page):

Could your ISP or spam filter be block emails from Gameboomers? My ISP spam filter picks stuff up and I have to add the domain to my approved list.

Hi, Marian. Thanks for the FAQs excerpt, but... I don't have a "My Stuff" tab, only "My Place..."

No, no, no. Even if my computer is "not sure" about an email, it sends it to SPAM, and I never empty the SPAM folder without first checking to make sure there is no "legitimate" email there, just for that reason - because sometimes the computer does not determine correctly. I opened the Gameboomers account long ago (2008) but only now starting to use it, and still not too frequently. So it must be my fault somehow.

Are you using webmail or an email client?
If you are using an email client, your ISP has probably already filtered your email, and the only way you can see what email it may have filtered is by logging into your account with your web browser and using the webmail interface. For AOL that would be https://mail.aol.com/

Tried your patch, Marian - installing it first in the game folder, as you suggested, and then on the one the patch itself suggested, which seemed to be the same one as you'd suggested. But... didn't work! :(

In fact, now when I click on the game's desktop icon, it gives me a message that there is no cd in the drive - even though my game's Play cd is right there, as it has always been - and then, when I cancel the message, the game begins, no doubt because the cd had been there all along! So I guess the patch is not recognizing my game cd...???

Just now - put the game's cd in the other drive, and now clicking on the game's icon takes me directly to the game again. But still no change in the glitch... :(

And, by the way, wanting to show this to you from the beginning. It's from a video walkthrough posted just last year! Following is the link to pertinent clip. Specifically, starting at 11:06. See how the hero (presently in his "boy" form) pushes the box across the buildings over the board, moves it all the way right, and then SO EFFORTLESSLY! climbs on to it?!! I wanted to contact the maker of this video to find out how come he is not having any of the climbing problems I am having, whether he has a patch or a later version of the game, etc. But there is no way to send him a message! I even "subscribed" to his channel - long enough to learn I still can't contact him or send him a message. So I unsubscribed, and wrote my question in a comment (that you can see). But he never answered, and I noticed he didn't answer the other two comments that were posted last year. So I guess he doesn't respond at all. Maybe you guys know of a way of contacting him and maybe he will tell you the answers I can't get from him??? I sure would appreciate it.

Here is the link. I hope this one does not violate any Board rules. But if you have to remove this one too, please be sure to first check out what I am talking about, so you will know exactly what I am not able to do... :(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIDYYtAygyk

I have aol. No filters. Only the SPAM folder, which I check to make sure there is no legitimate email before I empty it.

I also put the only two threads I have created so far (Time Machine and, earlier, Belief & Betrayal) on the Watched List. Still no email notifications... :(

I can't find a description of exactly what the patch does or whether it will help your problem, but I did find this archived description of how to install --
http://web.archive.org/web/2004022603491...atch.php3?id=21
and this part suggests you need to start the game over:

I'm not sure what they mean by "incompatible" but it might mean problems aren't fixed unless you start over. They're certainly saying not to use your old saves.


Unfortunately we don't see his hands to see what control he was using. He's probably using a Virtual Machine with Windows 98 installed. Many YouTube uploaders who do Let's Plays of old games from the 1990's use some form of emulation -- DOSBox for DOS games or Windows 3.1 games, VMware or Virtual PC for Windows games.

You said you've played the game before.
Was that in Windows 98?
Do you remember if you used a patch last time you played?
Inferno had quite a few instructions for using it in XP. Here's a link for Inferno's archived webpage:
https://web.archive.org/web/201504010922...chine_Setup.htm
Inferno actually used two patches: "TM120INTCD.zip" and "TimeUSfix.zip"

Deleted

Thank you for the detailed response, Jenny. I really appreciate it. But as I mentioned before, the game is installed on an old XP that is not connected to the Internet. So I have to use my Win 7, which is connected to the Internet, to download the patch. I can't even connect my old XP to the Internet because I had never connected it to the Internet and, therefore, nothing (including the Internet Explorer) was ever updated. And it is only because this XP was never connected to the Internet, and therefore never updated, that it even plays the game! In fact, I have another XP computer that was connected to the Internet, and therefore continuously updated, and it cannot run the game at all.

So you see the problem now. I cannot download the patch on my old XP with the game installed on it. For one thing, the Internet would want me to update everything before it would allow me to visit any site at all. But if I update my computer to be able to get the patch, then the game would no longer play on that computer either! Thus, the above instructions that say I need to find the game directory, etc., are not applicable in my case because the game is not installed on the computer on which I downloaded the patch.

Moreover, as I think I explained to Marian earlier, my download was not like the way she described hers when she downloaded the patch to help me, or as it is described in your message. There were no zipped files. Rather I immediately got a window showing me the files to be extracted, and there were several files at that. So I never got a chance to download a zipped package. The download itself extracted everything on to my computer. Definitely unlike even my own past experiences, but that was how it happened.

Another curious thing is that in the gray box where you have (I think copied and pasted) the description/instructions for the patch installation, note that it mentions "25 file(s) unzipped successfully." But the patch I downloaded from Marian's link had only 18 files. Are you looking at the instructions for the same patch Marian found?

Finally, re: your Qs about my playing the game before - yes, I have played it several times before. On this same original-version-of-XP. I think I may have set the compatibility mode (remember: XP's had a special compatibility wizard for changing such modes) to Win 95 or 98. As I mentioned though, this is the only XP (never touched by the Internet or its updates) that allows me to play this game. I had another XP that was connected to the Internet and regularly updated, but it could not play this game. Its processor "died," so I had to get another computer and it was an XP Professional. But that too is connected to the Internet, updated, and therefore won't play the Time Machine, no matter what I do with the compatibility mode. But it's the same problem every I play this game: the climbing glitch on certain boxes. I have to do it over and over and over, ad nauseam, until I finally/accidentally find that hotspot that would make the character climb. Only I came across that video walkthrough, and I realized that there must be either a version of the game, or a patch, that allowed this gamer to play the game so smoothly. And that is what I am hoping all you nice folks will help me find: either a version or a patch that would allow me to play the game I really love so much, without all the frustration engendered by these climbing glitches.

So there you have it - the whole picture now. Please, consider especially the facts that (1)I can download the patch on a computer that neither has the game installed nor will allow it to run; (2) I did not get any zipped messages in my download experience with Marian's patch; and (3) there are only 18 files in the patch I got, not 25.

Please, tell me what to do now. Thanks.

You don't need to connect the XP computer to the Internet. Just transfer the patch from the Windows 7 computer to the XP computer using a USB thumb drive. I thought you'd already done this.


Whether it offers to unzip or just downloads the zipped file depends on how your web browser is set up, and sometimes on how the website you're downloading from is set up. Don't get confused by minor variation. If you want the file as a zip, sometimes you can right-click the link and choose "Save Target As..."


Unzipping to 18 files instead of 25 is not a concern. The Cryo patch worked by overwriting files while the patch from patches-scrolls.de has a Setup.exe which may work by altering some of the existing files in the game folder instead of replacing them. Both patches should patch to version 1.20.

The most relevant part of what I quoted from the web archive of Cryo's tech support site from year 2002 is this:

That would apply both to Cryo's original version of the patch and the patch from patches-scrolls.de because they both patch to version 1.20.


As far as I can tell, you need to start the game over for the patch to take effect.
That's assuming the patch fixes your problem. Apparently the game had several glitches.
If you watch that YouTube video, you see a few of them.

Thanks for the detailed (and so organized!) response, Jenny. And I hope you know how much I really appreciate your patience and perseverance. I really love this game so much and, let's just say life is not that great right now. So I really kind of "need" this game, which is why I am being so - persistent? - in trying to solve the problem, because I can't proceed further in the game until I get over that silly box! Really the last of the hurdles I always have in this game... :(

And I really have come so far, sure would hate to start over. As I mentioned before, it's always three boxes that give me the most trouble - and this was the last one... With my time constraints, I don't even remember how long it took me to get to this point. What if I play the game over and can't even get on the first of the three boxes at that time?! In other words, what if the patch never fixes the problem...

And yes, I had downloaded the patch on this computer and transferred it to the old one. As it turned out, it did not have a USB port(!) Old computer, you know. So I transferred the files (which I had put in my own-made folder) on a cd and then on my old computer's desktop. I then clicked on the setup.exe file in the patch files, and was given a destination of Time Machine Patch! That didn't seem right. So I used browse to go to the game folder in the Program Files. When I pressed Enter though, the path was still specified as Time Machine Patch. So I deleted the "Patch" from the path specified, and the computer said there was no such folder (even though that's the game folder, and it's under Cryo Entertainment in the Program Files of the C:\ drive!) I noticed this just now as I tried to reinstall the patch, as I was waiting for your response...

Also, remembered what you'd mentioned - compatibility. So, just to be sure, used the old XP's Program Compatibility Wizard to change the setting to 98/ME. For the program I wanted the compatibility to apply to, I put in CD ROM, because that's where my game CD is, of course. But the computer said there was no CD in the drive! So then I browsed and tried to apply the compatibility to the Time Machine desktop icon - which was probably silly, right? But I guess it's really starting to get to me...

Oh, curious thing... I tried again to download the patch Marian had recommended, just in case I had not done it right the first time. But now I get the message: "the page you requestet (typo in message itself) is not found"! What happened?!! Can you guys please check to figure it out?

O-kay... I got tired so I uninstalled the game, saves and all... Cleaned out the computer to make sure no "shadows" remained, from the game as well as the different ways I'd tried to install that patch. Hopefully, I got rid of it all, to give me a "fresh start." Reinstalled the game. Then followed Marian's suggestion and put all the patch files in the game folder. Was surprised a little because this time there was no "Replace [this or that]?" message at all. Clicked on the setup.exe, had to rewrite the path a little (it still had "Time Machine Patch 120" as destination!) - just as Jenny, I think, had explained. The game runs at least (thank God!), but it will be quite a while before I get to the boxes and can see whether the patch actually helps with the climbing problem...

Meanwhile, I am still curious as to what happened to that patch Marian had recommended... As I mentioned in my earlier message, I tried to download the patch again - just in case I had done something wrong the first time - and got that strange message with the typo: "The requestet (typo in message itself) page could not be found." Can anyone figure out what happened? I mean, where did the patch go? If so, please do be sure to let me know.

Once again, thanks for all your help, you wonderful guys. And do wish me luck. Hope so much it works, and that all this (including having to start over!) will be worth it.

I don't know where. I'm getting that too -- "requestet" with a T on the end. The link worked yesterday.
Maybe they are working on their server.

You can still download Time Machine patches from their archived site

http://www.patches-scrolls.com/dl.php?file=timeusfix.zip
http://www.patches-scrolls.com/dl.php?file=time120.zip

Good luck with the patched game. Hopefully it will work.

Thanks, Jenny. As for the archived site, did you check to see whether the Time Machine patches are still there? Whether they work either?

I can't tell you if the patches themselves work because I don't have the game and I have no way of testing. But I did download them and they appear to be the same patches as at the newer patches-scrolls site.

Apparently the "timeusfix.zip" patch is for the Dreamcatcher version of the game, and fixes problems with the game not recognizing the legitimate CD. So that's kind of rare -- a NoCD released by the publishers of the game themselves.

No, the answer you gave is the one I was asking for - whether these patches in the archives can be *downloaded* or are those links not working either. We will not know whether the patch Marian recommended will help fix my particular problem, of course, until I reach that point in the game again - and that will be quite some time since I'd done so much already.

Could you please give me a link to those Archived Time Machine patches though, like Marian did? Or would that be the same link that doesn't seem to be working anymore? I ask because I'd actually tried to navigate through their patches scrolls, but I never found what you seem to have found, perhaps because I am not familiar with this site.

Once again, thanks so much, Jenny. You're a true sport!

Oh, just tried your two links, Jenny, and in each I got the same page with the same message: "This page is no longer being updated! Please update your bookmarks and visit www.patches-scrolls.de from now on." I then clicked on the link they had given and it took me to a general page. Could not locate the Time Machine patches at all. What's going on here? :(

The page doesn't need updating. It's an archive.
But the patches are gone today.

Yesterday all I had to do was click the blue "Mirror 1" links, but today the patches are gone.

However the links from the current site seem to work, though you have to go through several clicks to different pages.
http://www.patches-scrolls.de/patch/4390/7/

Thanks. Haven't tried it, but Administrator did say in response to a query that the download should be working "now." So apparently they *are* aware of the problem. Meanwhile, restarted my Time Machine game, and ran into my first glitch that has occurred maybe once in the past also - a cutscene is not kicking in, without which cannot proceed further in the game. Also the game crashed. So not sure whether the patch is doing much good, if any ... :(

I'm sorry to hear that the game messed up already.
These patches were from around the time the game was released.
Time120.zip and timeusfix.zip both have files from year 2000 in them.

They aren't modern patches for modern problems -- or even for XP-related problems. XP was released in October 2001 according to Wikipedia -- after the patches were released. So the patches are for problems that happened on Windows 95 and 98. The problems may also happen on XP and later, but the patches were made for Windows 95 and 98.

You can try the Compatibility settings Inferno suggested for XP ***here***

I notice Inferno used compatibility settings on the Setup/installer on the CD, but not the game. She also used compatibility mode on the patches before running them. But I don't see that she used compatibility mode on the game itself once it was installed and patched.

It was so much easier running these games back when everyone had Windows 95 or 98 and a computer that wasn't 16 times as fast as what the game was made for. Cryo's 3D games seem particularly difficult to get running right on modern computers -- moreso than their earlier point-and-clicks.

Sounds rather complicated, Jenny... At least for me. But sure do appreciate it! How did you find this gem?!! I mean really. Would have been nice if I'd known about it before. But I've already started the game, and you did say that you have to do everything she suggests before even installing the game. So it seems best to continue with Marian's patch and ... hope for the best, I guess...

I was really amused by her description of cleaning out the ol' computer. That's exactly what I do!!! So that felt pretty good - like someone patting on your back. LOL

Thanks once again, Jenny. You're really nice, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help.

You mean Inferno's site?
Inferno used to be a Gameboomers Glitches moderator, and created the "Inferno's Adventures" website to help people get their older games working on Windows XP.

The original website is gone now (gives a 403 error) but is archived at archive.org.
The index to the archive of Inferno's site is ***here***. It might help you get some other old games working on your XP computer.

"It might help you get some other old games working on your XP computer." [How do you get the quote to appear in a box? When I highlighted it and hit "quote" or "quick quote," it quoted your whole message - and no grey box.]

That would truly be wonderful as I have a lot of old games. In fact, those were the good old gaming days, weren't they? It's hard to even find an adventure game anymore. And those that are in the making seem to continue to *be* in the making forever!

Have you ever tried any of the Inferno's patches? Do they really work? If so, which games have you tried them on?

I make the quotes manually. Type in
[ q u o t e ] whatever text you want to quote [ / q u o t e ]
without the extra spaces.

If you want to say who the quote is from, type
[ q u o t e = name ] instead of [ q u o t e ]
at the beginning. The [ / q u o t e ] part at the end is the same.

You can use the "Preview Post" button to see how it's going to look.


Yes, nearly all my favorite games were made for Windows 98 and earlier, 1990's to early 2000's. But I also liked Kheops' games and some of the Daedalic games (Dark Eye: Memoria, Night of the Rabbit).


The patches weren't made by Inferno. She used patches from other sites and linked to them. The patches she recommended for New Adventures of the Time Machine are the same ones as at patches-scrolls.de. What was different about her procedure was that she used compatibility mode on the patches before running them.

Thank you for *all* the information. You are truly great!

Now let's see if I can practice your quotation instructions!



I started playing games late 2001, but I do have a lot of games made for Windows 95 and 98. In fact, I wanted to complete my Broken Sword series, and two of the games were really old. Would you believe when I tried to install them, the system said I did not have enough RAM and that I needed 256KB? I was installing on XP, so in fact I had way more than that, of course! But I did get my XP to play the game just fine. XP, at least the original service pack, was truly wonderful, wasn't it? <sigh>

Btw: which Kheops' games are you referring to? If I remember correctly, one of them was Riddle of the Sphinx, wasn't it? Did you play that one? How did you like it? And what others? Maybe I can still get them from Amazon.

Just previewed my message, and - hey, I did it! Thanks so much!

Riddle of the Sphinx was made by Omni Creative Group.
There were several re-issues of Riddle of the Sphinx.
The original version had 3 CD's and was in a big box.
Omni made a second game, The Omega Stone, but no more after that.

Kheops Studio was Cryo's successor. When Cryo shut down, some of the developers founded Kheops Studio.

Here's a list of Kheops' games:

The Egyptian Prophecy (2004) .... (aka Egypt III)
Crystal Key 2 (2004)
Return to Mysterious Island (2005)
ECHO: Secrets of the Lost Cavern (2005)
Voyage: Inspired by Jules Verne (2005)
The Secrets of Da Vinci: The Forbidden Manuscript (2006)
SafeCracker The Ultimate Puzzle Adventure (2006)
Destination Treasure Island (2006)
Cleopatra a Queen's Destiny (2007)
Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy (2007)
Dracula 3 - The Path of the Dragon (2008)
Return to Mysterious Island II (2009)
The Fall Trilogy: Separation (2009)
The Fall Trilogy 2: Reconstruction (2010)
The Fall Trilogy 3: Revelation (2011)

The Kheops website was archived at the web archive, but it is very slow and doesn't always load.
https://web.archive.org/web/20080614164658/http://www.kheops-studio.com:80/site/games.php?lang=2


I started in mid 1999. I bought what was available locally, but most adventure games I had to buy online. When I figured out how to get sound in DOS on my Windows 98 computer, I was able to play DOS games too. Now it's easier to play DOS game on a modern computer (using DOSBox and in some cases ScummVM) than it is to play the early Windows games.


Congratulations. If you need to know how something is done with the UBB code, quote a message that is using the feature you want and see how it's done in the quoted message.

Thanks for the tip re: the UBB(what does that stand for, by the way?) code.

Re: the games. Thanks for the list! And I see that I have and have played almost all of them! In fact, I have even written walkthroughs (posted on Gameboomers itself!) on THREE of them! The Egyptian Prophecy (2004), The Secrets of Da Vinci: The Forbidden Manuscript (2006), and Destination Treasure Island (2006).

I am only missing The Fall Trilogy. And thanks for the years these games were released because I see that The Fall Trilogy came in 2009-11. So I should still be able to get them and even play them, perhaps on my Win 7 itself! How did you like them, by the way?

And, yes, I did get Riddle of the Sphinx in a big box. In fact, there was a bug in the tape-recorder (did you run into it too?), so I had to contact the Dreamcatcher support. That was, again in the "good old days," when you could actually call them, you know. A long distance call to Canada, but worth it. The tech was great and mailed me a patch, explaining how to install it, etc. Took a few days and, I still remember, it had "ROTS" written on the cd and I wondered "what? Rots?!" before realizing it was only an abbreviation of the game title. Talk about being a novice back then, right?! But I did succeed in installing the patch, and it worked like a charm! That was the great thing about being able to deal directly with the game company, you know - you explained your problem and you got the exact fix. In fact, I did contact DreamCatcher or the Adventure Company re: the Time Machine problem with the boxes also. They no longer took calls, so I think I emailed them. It must have been some years ago since, as I understand that both DreamCatcher and the Adventure Company are gone now, right? Anyway, the tech was nice but told me that the game was too old and they had no patch for it.

Oh, by the way - I did reach the point in the Time Machine game where I have to climb two of the three problematic boxes (in the washing machine area) and, sad to tell you, that the patch Marian found doesn't work after all... :(

Back to the old games though - I do have The Omega Stone too, but I could never finish it. I only get to that point where you have to put some skulls in the water, or something. But as I try to figure out the order, the skulls keep multiplying in my inventory! Is that a glitch? Probably so. I keep thinking I'd play the game someday and just look up a walkthrough to see what the order is I am to follow with the skulls. But I do like to solve puzzles on my own, without the help of a walkthrough; and I can't seem to do it with this one because the skulls always multiply in my inventory... So I have yet to play that game.

I think it's Universal Bulletin Board code.


The Fall was a casual series.
Not as good as their adventure games.
You can download the demo at Big Fish
http://www.bigfishgames.com/games/5381/the-fall-trilogy-chapter-1/


I remember the tape recorder was a common problem.
There was a very nice troubleshooting website for Riddle of the Sphinx, now archived ***here***. It had some interesting tips for running games that used QuickTime games that applied to other games too. Anyway, I didn't get the tape recorder problem (I think there was a workaround where you could avoid the bug by rewinding) but I got the problem where objects would appear totally black, and I had to uninstall the QuickTime 4.12 that came with the game and use QuickTime 3.02 instead.


Is this the computer you played the game on previously?
Have you always had the problem with the boxes?


I don't remember the puzzle.
There was a patch that was supposed to fix a "Celtic Altar skulls visual bug." Could that have been the problem? The archive of the page with the description of the patch is ***here***.

Yes, I googled and that was one of the meanings for it. But I guess your tip was for determining the technique any time I see something in the forum. Thanks again! That is a really useful tip.

The Fall Series. FYI: my brother actually buys these games for me, as birthday, Christmas, etc., gifts. These games are the only things I like to get for gifts, you see. Anyway, I told him about it, and he looked up the series and was really surprised to find that there was a pack for all THREE of them, for only $1.99!!! From U.K., via Amazon! He showed me the pictures, and the pack said Hidden Object. I then found your recent response and noticed you said Big Fish games. So they are actually Hidden Object games? I thought we were talking about the adventure games. Not that I mind actually. In fact, I love the HO games. Have literally dozens of them!

Riddle of the Sphinx. No, I couldn't get the tape-recorder to work at all. Maybe because I was such a novice then, as I mentioned. But the DreamCatcher tech's patch fixed everything. Maybe that was why I never had to tinker with the QuickTime. The tape-recorder comes at the beginning of the game, as I recall. The patch might have fixed any other problems I might have run into later on as well. Then again maybe he sent me something for the QuickTime too. Can't really remember. I do know I did not have any Internet at that time. So he would have had to send me an upgrade himself.

The Time Machine.

Yes, to both questions. And I must have played this game at least a dozen times over the years. As I mentioned, it really is one of my top favorites. And these bugs have always been a downer for me, the only things that keep me from playing the game more frequently than I have. Specifically, it's these three boxes - two in the washing machine area, and one on that roof you must have seen in the video walkthrough I cited. I just have to keep on trying over and over, sometimes reloading from a close enough save to do so, until the (idiot ) stops pushing and finally climbs the box. MaG got me to join this forum I think in 2008 (I don't remember exactly, I am going by the date noted after my name in this forum itself), but I never really posted any queries or anything. I would just email her if I had a question, and she was always nice enough to help. And I got to know her, of course, because of the walkthroughs I posted on GB. Anyway, this time when I ran into the bugs, I kind of got desperate. As I mentioned, life is not so good right now, and I didn't feel I had the patience to keep on trying to climb the boxes, as I'd done before. So I tried to google to see if anyone else might have a solution, found that walkthrough, and noticed that that guy was having no problems at all! So I first tried to send him a message, but the page gave no such option. So I then posted a comment. I even referred you to the comment but when I later checked myself, I found the comment had been deleted without ever being even answered! In fact, he (or *some* one) had deleted the other two comments as well! Talk about rude, right?

Oh, btw: you really need to try this game, Jenny! It truly is wonderful. I know that some of the sequences are a bit tricky, because of the "action" involved. But there is usually a very simple way to overcome those situations. You might still be able to get the game. Fry's was selling a bunch of them, in jewel cases, back in 2008 or 2009. I bought ALL the copies they had! I had intended to give them as gifts, and I did - some of them. The rest I kept for myself! You know, just in case my original CDs got scratched or something (God forbid!) Talk about loving this game, right?

Anyway, after posting the comment on that YouTube site, I kept checking for a few days, hoping for a response, to no avail. And then, I remembered the GB forum and decided to try my luck. Well, I'm glad I did. I may not have gotten the "fix" for the problem, but it was really nice to meet such wonderful people - you, Marian, and the "Draclvr."


The Omega Stone

I think the last time I tried to play the game was in 2003. Quite a while ago indeed. So I can't say for sure, but that sounds like the bug all right. Yes, it *was* some kind of altar, and we had a few skulls that we were supposed to set in some particular order which I was trying to figure out, only to notice that my inventory showed a whole lot more skulls than I originally had! Will definitely check out the link you gave me when I next try that game. Thanks so much!

Btw: if you don't mind my asking, you really know so much about games; and you definitely qualify as a great moderator. How did you ever get to be one? I mean, was it your idea to start this forum? Were you elected? You just know so much about so much, it's amazing!

The Fall series is Kheops's only casual game. Their other games are adventure, except you might consider Safecracker to be puzzle/adventure.


He did have problems in some places. He mentioned it at one point. He also had a bug where the protagonist got stuck on something and kept running in place. He had to go back to the Load screen to unstick him.


Did you ever play on any Windows version older than XP? The guy who did the walkthrough said Windows ME was best -- and he played it in Virtual PC. He also said he had the DVD version of the game. It's possible that the pushing and climbing controls are worse in XP than in ME.


That may have been YouTube's doing. It's happened before. YouTube's comment software is glitchy and some comments disappear, never to return.

I don't think the YouTube guy can tell you how to get the game working on your particular computer anyway. All he can do is say how he ran it on his computer, which he did in an answer to one of the comments in the first video.


MaG asked me to. I'd already been helping out in Glitches, and MaG decided to make it official.

"Casual game"? You mean Hidden Object? Never heard of those games referred to as "casual," but do know they come in various difficulty modes, one of which is "casual." I tend to always choose the hardest/Expert mode, for the challenge.



I already know the whole game "by heart," so to speak. So I didn't watch his whole videos. Apparently, you did. But, no, I only meant problem climbing the boxes that have been such a headache for me. He didn't seem to have any problem with them at all.



No, my first computer was a Tandy 1000, pretty old. Then I got an IBM, which was a whole lot better, but all DOS, no graphics. My first GUI was a Windows 95, which I got in 1997. I doubt it would play the Time Machine though, because it predates it. Besides, I haven't used it in so long, I doubt that the CMOS battery is still any good. So the XP I have always played this game on is really the oldest computer I have that can run it. I think it's Service Pack 2, if not older. I think I had connected it to the Internet, but only briefly. So it might have updated to Service Pack 2, but it is really the oldest XP computer I have and, as I mentioned, the only one that can play this game.

Thanks for telling me about the guy's comments re: his using the DVD version. Again, I didn't watch his whole videos, I was only interested in how he managed to climb those boxes so easily. And, no, I did not expect him to help me with my problem, of course. I only asked him what version he was playing (the original or a later updated one), and whether he had used a patch of any sort to help him climb those three boxes in particular. It would also have been nice to know where he got his version of the game, so then I could have tried to get it too. But I was afraid to ask him that in case, well, he had pirated the game from somewhere. So I didn't ask him about that. The above would have been enough to give me a starting point to then do my own "trouble-shooting."

BTW: Can you tell me exactly where in that video walkthrough the guy mentions he is using a DVD, etc. Maybe it will help me figure out the answers to my questions he never answered. You know, as I googled for my particular problem, I noticed topics re: playing the game on Windows 7. In fact, I checked out this one site where the guy had explained how to play the Time Machine on Win 7. He said to just copy the data from our CD 1 to a new folder on our desktop, set the compatibility to 2000 (he added we can probably set it to XP, but that he had tried 2000, and it worked for him), and then we should be able to install it in a normal way (he never elaborated, but I think he meant by clicking on the setup.exe file). Well, I tried it and shortly into the process I got a "severe" error, stating BadWindowsVersion! But there was no way to contact the guy, or ask him about it. Have you heard of such a "transfer" or ability to play on Win 7?

Also, on a related topic, you'd given me a link a while back, you seemed surprised as you said,



I forgot to tell you that a few years ago, Jonathan Boakes (you know, the creator of the Dark Fall series} was pretty upset as he told me that the Dark Fall: The Journal was on freeware. Apparently, it was all legal, the reason cited being that the game was too old. Boakes was just upset because he felt that he should still be getting the royalties. The way I figured it, however (though never told him, because it might have hurt his feelings) was that maybe it had something to do with copyright. You know, a work is copyrighted only for a limited time; and, if not promptly renewed, it may actually end up in "public domain," meaning available for use by others without compensation to the original creator. Well, maybe the same thing has happened to the Time Machine. If I remember correctly, Time Machine is older than Dark Fall: The Journal, right? But even if not, perhaps it [Time Machine] *has* become a freeware, which is why it seems to be making a sort of comeback, so much talk even about playing on Win 7! Just a thought, of course. But I'm more interested in knowing whether it *is* available, or at least "convertible," to Win 7. If so, maybe it might be a "cleaner" copy than my original, and the reason that the walkthrough guy did not seem to be having any of the pesky climbing problems I am having. What do you think? And can you please find out something about that for me? Thanks.

Last, but not the least,


She made an excellent decision, to be sure.

That would depend on the computer's specs. If the processor is fast enough, and the video card is adequate (2MB SVGA card) it's not too old to run the game. If the processor is only the minimum requirement for the game (233mhz), it won't run well but if it's over 300mhz it might work well enough to play. Yes the CMOS battery would probably need replacing, and possibly the power supply as well. Those two things tend to be what goes bad with time on my older computers.


The DVD version is probably the 1.20 version, which the patch updates to. Cryo typically released the DVD versions a little later than the CD versions, and were patched versions.


As far as I know, this "limited time" is still 75 years.
Games do not automatically become "freeware."
The owner of the rights has to release them as freeware in order for them to be freeware.


Time Machine would be very hard to "convert" because of its complexity and the uniqueness of Cryo's 3D engine.
Combine that with the fact that it wasn't a very popular game.
Most games that get updated installers either work in DOSBox, or only require minor tweaks, or are immensely popular games that may get a completely new game engine with higher resolution.

Your best bet if you're not satisfied with how Time Machine plays on your XP computer is to play it in a virtual machine.

If you don't collect older computers with specs compatible with your older games, the best way to play them is to use emulation programs.

If you have Windows 7 and a Windows 98 or Windows ME CD, you can try running the game inside Virtual PC like the guy who did the video.
***The Metzomagic website*** has a how-to on using Virtual PC 2004. This is the website I used when learning to use Virtual PC.

You'd need Virtual PC 2007 for Windows 7, but the instructions are pretty much the same as for Virtual PC 2004.

You can also find how-to's for installing Windows 95 or 98 in a virtual machine at YouTube. Some of them use VMware instead of Virtual PC. The YouTube guy said Time Machine works in VMware too.

You can download Virtual PC from Microsoft.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=4580
or
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=24439

The only difference between Virtual PC 2007 and Virtual PC 2007 SP1 is that the SP1 version supports newer guest operating systems and higher resolutions. Since you'd be using an older version of Windows as guest, I don't think it matters whether you choose the SP1 version or not, as long as you choose a 64-bit version (assuming you're running 64-bit Windows 7).

I never saw any DVD version of the Time Machine game. As I mentioned, Fry's last sold this game in the form of jewel cases, some time in 2007 or 2008, when I bought all the copies they had. Can you tell me where I could get a DVD copy this guy might have been using? As you said, the later versions tend to have a patch already applied to them. That would surely fix my problem, or at least hopefully it will.



To be honest, it's been a long time since my law school classes, and I never did pursue a career in copyright/patent law. Just refreshed my knowledge of the Copyright Act of 1976. As it turns out, that's when the protection was actually extended to "a term consisting of the life of the author and 70 years after the author's death." But then, why was Jonathan so upset? He definitely had not consented to the game's being offered free, and yet did not seem to have any legal recourse to prevent it. Perhaps he had signed away his rights when negotiating with the publisher. One can always waive or relinquish one's rights, of course. But I am not about to ask him, since it is obviously such a sore subject for him.

Last but not least, thanks for the info on Virtual PC. I have always wanted to try it, and now - thanks to you - I have some ideas as to how to get started. Might be a while before I do, however, because - well, let's just say it is too hectic these days to try something new. But really appreciate the info. So, thanks again.

Oh, by the way - I did manage to climb the first two boxes. Yay! Those are the easier ones, however. Still keeping fingers crossed for that third/last one, the one that prompted me to go all over seeking help...

Of course not. Cryo's DVD versions of games were only released in Europe and the UK.


Check eBay.
Don't expect to buy from a US seller.
Don't expect to find one new.
The DVD version looks like this and contains more than one language
http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/ne...CoverId,150322/


You already have the 1.20 patch.
If that didn't fix the problem, using the DVD version certainly won't.
You might be better served by buying a mouse with more precise clicks.

Oh, no. Wonder why that guy wasn't having any problems climbing those boxes though...?

As for the mouse, you can use it on the Main Menu, if you like; but the game itself is completely keyboard-controlled. Thought we already talked about that... W,A,S,D, for movement; Ctrl for Combat; and the Spacebar for *all* actions - from speaking to someone, to picking up or using items, to pushing as well as climbing. And that's the problem, since you use the spacebar both for moving as well as climbing the boxes. And there really is no way to "fine tune" the tapping of the spacebar. Tried it, doesn't work. But I think the real problem is not even so much the controls, but finding the "hotspot." I have to keep trying until I finally happen to step on it, and then the hero climbs. Such a drag... :(

Thanks for the info though. Much appreciate it.

He did have trouble at one point -- where the protagonist insisted on climbing instead of pushing.

I forgot about it being keyboard-controlled.
You talked about finding the "hotspot"
Are you saying the speed of the "tap" isn't what controls whether he climbs or pushes? and that it depends on where he's standing instead?

Yes, I saw that - when the boy gets up the box, instead of pulling it, right after he cuts the rope tying the two boxes. But it happens only for a second, the guy even comments (something like "he wants to climb on it, but we don't need that right now"), and then the boy starts moving the box as we need him to do. So a tiny skip there, but not really a bother.



Yes. I must have played literally hundreds of games since the first time I played the Time Machine, and Time Machine itself at least a dozen times. So I can say with complete certainty that it's a matter of the point where he is standing. There really is no way to modulate how we click on the spacebar, but I have still tried - in spite of the possible risks to my keyboard! Tapping at various spots on the spacebar, and with various levels of speed and even strength!!! I am sure you know all about "hotspots," right? So that's how it works every time I do finally manage to get him to climb - only by a fluke actually, a matter of where he finally steps that gets him to climb up the box.

And at this point, I think I can share my "good news." I reached that third, most pesky point in the game last night, and was determined to get him to climb that box already. And, after several attempts, finally did it!

And you know, in a way that patch might have helped after all. You see, even as we were communicating in the past few days, I did at one point manage to get him to climb the box but then, as I quickly tried to save, the game crashed! So it was back to trying to get him to climb, with no success until you talked me into installing the patch and starting over. The patch did not help in the climbing, true, but I do think it is minimizing the crashes. In fact, I had just that one crash in the beginning of the game that I told you about, right after I restarted the game. So this time when I got the boy up, the game did not crash and I *was* able to save. Yay!

I used to have that game. I only play it so far then it would freeze. And I died alot anyway so I never finished it.

Be sure to back up that save so you have it for next time you play.


Did you use the patch?


Well, that's a "feature" of the game.
No patch for that.

If you still have it, you should try it again. It's really not that hard. I played it several times and have discovered so many easy ways to get around what seemed to be the hardest hurdles when I first played the game. In fact, I think that there is a very easy way to get through every possible hurdle. Just be sure to save before the hurdle comes up. I know you need to save sparingly in this game because it costs us "jad garrul," and you get a limited number of those for every "segment"/chapter. So you might need to play it once until you run in the hurdle, and then go back to your last save and this time save again before the hurdle. That way you can try and try again until you have crossed the hurdle; and then, quickly save!

The link I have given before (for Jenny and Marian's reference in connection with my particular problem) is actually an excellent walkthrough, and it's on YouTube so you can actually see what you need to do. But he has apparently not played the game too many times, and has missed some useful stuff. For example, if you play the Rainbow Nautilus game and get a score of 10+, you win an Hourglass (in addition to the Sand Herbs)! You can then trade this Hourglass with a Lemur for an extra spell! You really can't have enough of such spells, you know. The more you have, the more choices to get out of sticky situations. I would be happy to share such extra information with you. I just hope that Jenny can help me start getting those email notifications soon ... Otherwise, I might never find out, or at least not in time to help, if you wrote to ask me for those extra tidbits... :(

The freezing is a different problem, of course. It *is* an old game (Win 98/ME) and, as I have mentioned several times in my above conversation, I have only one old XP that can even play this game. What system did you play it on? The patch Marian recommended does not help me with my particular glitch, but it does seem to at least minimize the crashes. Maybe it will help with your freezing problem too. I never had that particular/freezing problem, so I can't say for sure. Anyway, Jenny has given an excellent set of instructions as to how to install the patch.

Sorry, but no, backing up is no good. If I used a back-up copy, there would be no point in ever playing the first three chapters of the game again at all, since everything I am supposed to get in those chapters (Sand Herbs, Spells, information) would be replaced by whatever I did or didn't get in this back up. That is why I wanted to get a patch or fix, so I could play the game "fresh," trying new approaches, but without having to worry about these 3 glitches. See what I mean?


Btw: I've checked my profile as well as preferences, marked everything that I could, but I am still not getting any notifications for anything posted in response to my posts. And, yes, I did add both my queries (Belief & Betrayal, and now the Time Machine) on my "Watched List," but still nothing. In fact, I've allowed for GB to email me re: anything they like. Still nothing. As a moderator, and so versed at that, can you please check my profile/preferences to see what I missed and, if at all possible, fix it? I really would appreciate it. You can't imagine how cumbersome it has been to keep checking in this forum (go to page 5, and then all the way down, etc.) just to see if someone has answered my question. I would also like to know if someone asks a question or shares some further information long after I stop checking the forum. See what I mean? So please do help me resolve that problem too. Thanks.

Haven't played it in years. Only PC I have now is Windows 7.

I think there is a thread somewhere here on the forums on how to play the game on Win 7. Didn't look into it myself, however, since I really prefer - and enjoy - playing it on my old XP.

I have a patch for running this game on modern CPUs and OSes, if anyone is interested: https://yadi.sk/d/nsVm2zk93Mkaeu
It was made for the Russian version, but I think it should work with others, too.

Thank you for the link, Iurii.
Is it a Russian fan of Cryo games who made the patch?
Are there patches for other Cryo "Legends" series games like Odyssey: The Search for Ulysses and Arthur's Knights 1 and 2?

Thanks Iurii. Maybe someday when I am feeling ambitious I will try this out. I was never able to play the game in my 98 or XP or Virtual PC running 98. It would not work. However, reading about some of the gameplay that Zurreen has written, I'm not sure I want to try to tackle the game.

Although, Norton is saying it is a really bad site!!

It appears to be a hosting site.
It probably hosts whatever people upload to it, and some of that may indeed be bad stuff.
Unless the site itself has infected ads, the particular download is probably OK.
If you're worried, you could try it in a VM.

Is Norton giving any details about what the problem is or just categorizing anything to do with the site as bad?

I had not downloaded the file. I had just clicked where it said "view" and "zip". I don't remember the verbiage and it is not having the same reaction now when I click on those. It scared me away from hitting the download button though.

I don't have VM installed on any currently used computers so won't be doing that.

Not quite a fan, but a caring representative of the technical support of the Russian company that had translated those games
He made those patches in 2003 when it became clear that Cryo is no more and Dreamcatcher won't do anything to help.


Yes! Do you want them? I think I used to share some of those patches in some other threads.


That's not a site, just a file-hosting part of my mail account. Should be no harm there at all, but I don't know how it appears to non-Russian users.
Sorry, I did not know how else to upload the patch.

I have found the archived version of the site with the patches with some explanation: https://web.archive.org/web/20071005041622/http://www.slavic.ru/games/techsup.htm#all_en
But it seems that the patches themselves are not archived, so you can't download from there.

No need to apologize Iurii. I think it's great you try to help us play some older games. I am not at all tech savvy so am nervous about doing a lot of things.

If there are patches for Arthur's Knights 1 and 2, I would be very interested!

I have only been able to get those games running in one of two ways: my Windows 98 computer, which is now sadly long gone; and in a virtual machine running Windows 98 with hardware virtualization enabled in the BIOS. On Windows XP and Windows ME, I would get the blue screen of death.

I would also be interested in Odyssey: Search for Ulysses.

Honestly, I would fall down in a dead faint if *any* of these games could be cajoled into working any other way. They seem to require a very specific environment or else you are just plain out of luck.

Oh, I do hope I didn't scare you away from the game. I was just talking about some of the glitches - only 3 actually, and all connected with moving some crates/boxes. But the fact that I still continue to play the game, and all the way through!, every few years, should tell you just how much fun it is, in spite of those few glitches.

When you say modern, do you mean Win 7? Do we download this patch from the link you have given? Does it also fix the glitches I have been discussing in this thread?

Sure would be great!

That's amazing.


Yes. I'd like to archive them.


Thanks for the link. I'll see if I can get Google's translator to cooperate.

Well, by combining the aforementioned patch with DgVoodoo and with some editing of the INI file I have managed to run 'Arthur Knights' on Windows 7 x64 in almost the ideal way

The patch fixes the inability to run the game on CPUs younger than Pentium III, DgVoodoo fixes the game graphics broken on nVidia, and editing INI makes it possible to copy all the CDs to the hard drive as disk switching is broken in later Windows versions as well.

'Odyssee' should certainly work with the game in any language: https://yadi.sk/d/-0SoITlz4lXpA

I am not so sure for 'Atrhur's Knights', but please try this links: First game, Second game.

Please tell if it works!


Yes, why not!


I am not sure, to tell the truth. Don't remember those glitches!

How would I go about editing the ini file for the Arthur's Knights games? I have some idea, but not totally. I would really like to try this out. Playing the games without having to swap CDs would be even better.

Marian, I think arthknia.ini and arthknib.ini in SYSTEM folder should read:

[Install]
Type=./

And then you can copy the three disks to that the installed game directory.

Terrific! Thanks so much.