Mystery of the Nautilus

This is the third (&last)time I am going to give this game a chance. I have Pent IV with WinXP, & I just don't see any reason why this XP game bounces back to the Desktop right after the intro cut-scene. I have tried adjusting Audio & Video accelerations & downloading latest version of DirectX, but still can't figure it out. One thing I HAVE noticed tho is that CD Rom runs constantly on & off at high speed & the game disc is extremely warm to the touch, which doesn't happen much with other games. Is this an indication of what the problem could be? Hoping somebody can clue me in! Thanks for any suggestions .......

Do you have Windows Media Player 7.1?
If not, have you tried downloading the codecs for Windows Media 7.1? Dreamcatcher has a link on their support page.
http://www.adventurecompanygames.com/tac/support/nautilus.html

It's normal for a CD to heat up when a game accesses it a lot, though I don't think I've ever had a CD get "extremely warm to the touch" simply by playing a game introduction. But maybe your drive is faster than mine.

Yes, I had already checked the Dreamcatcher support pages & downloaded Win Media Player 7.1 prior to downloading the game. Only other thing I can think of is my DirectX file ..... it seems to be empty even tho I had downloaded the latest 9.0 version. Maybe XP doesn't accept 9.0 & is trying to run the game off the lower version that came with XP software. I will look around again & see if it is hiding in a different place.
Thanks very much for trying to help!

Are you able to run DXDIAG?

I did get into DXDIAG & it shows 9.0 as being the current version. For what it is worth, here is info it gave me .....
DirectX Files Tab: No problems found.
Display Tab 1: The file nv4_disp.dll is not digitally signed, which means that it has not been tested by Microsoft's Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL). You may be able to get a WHQL logo'd driver from the hardware manufacturer.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Music Tab: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.
Network Tab: No problems found. DirectPlay test results: All tests were successful.
If you have any thoughts, please let me know, although I'm beginning to think no game is worth this kind of headache. Thanks again!

Well your DX9 seems to be installed OK. Whether Nautilus is having trouble with DX9 is another matter, but since it didn't work with DX8 either it sounds like there is a different problem going on. Have you tried updating your drivers? You'll need drivers that are compatible with DX9.

Which sound and video cards do you have? Have you tried contacting Dreamcatcher?

Video card is NVIDIA GeForce2MXMX400. Not sure if I got the sound card right, but I see C-Media AC97 Audio Device. If checking Drivers is the next step then I will feel better turning that part over to my son next time he visits. In the interim tho, I probably should contact Dreamcatcher & see what they say. Egads, what a learning experience this has all been since starting to play these Adventure games!

Geronimo, I am having the same problem as you are. I managed to get past the first door the third time after it kicked me back to my desktop. If I was very careful and clicked only on the left side of the screen I was able to advance. But once I got into the decompression chamber I started to look around and moved my cusror to the pages on the floor and I got zapped back to the desktop again. I also have Windows XP Home Version. I have not tried the patch yet. I will be watching this post for any resolution to our problem. Yours in adversity. Sheila <img border="0" alt="" title="" src="graemlins/cry.gif" />

Yes, too bad! It looks like it would be an interesting game to play!

Well I just finished the game with no problems until the very last cut scene when the damned game kept freezing at exactly the same point each time.
In the end I watched the last scene in Windows Media Player.
I would have enjoyed the game if it wasn't so dark in places as well.I was constantly peering in the real dark sections of the sub in case I missed something.Too much like watching X files for me.

Incog

Depending on your video card, I suppose, you can sometimes raise the brightness of your picture. I use Windows98 and an ATI Video Card. I can right click the desktop; choose Properties; then the Settings tab; Advanced bar; Color tab and then there are two big Blue buttons on that window. By sliding the top one to the right (brightness) you can lighten the screen and get an amazing look at things you didn't even know were in the picture.

Has anyone figured out a solution to this problem yet? I have tried everything suggested and am using all the up-to-the-minute drivers. Seems to be a problem with Nautilus and XP. The game lists XP under the system requirements. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Confused]" src="confused.gif" />
Rusty

Hi----I am having the same problems with Nautilus. I have xp and all the latest drivers, etc., but am unable to keep the game running more than a few seconds. I downloaded the 7.1 and still have no luck. I have gone into compatability section on the game and changed the settings to everything from win95 to 2000. Nothing makes any difference. PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP!!!!!!
scotland

Hi scotland,
I tried everything to get this one to run on XP. In the end, it went back to the store. Nothing worked. Seems that some people can run it okay on XP. However, the people that have trouble (alot by the way) with it cannot get it to run no matter what. Just check out the Technical forum over at The Adventure Company. Bottom line, there is no remedy for this problem as no one knows what the problem is.
Rusty

How aggravating. I wonder if this is one of those problems that one of the XP updates causes. It is supposed to run on XP according to the listed system requirements. So if a lot of XP users are having difficulties they really need to figure out what's causing the problem.

I think you are right Jenny100 but, a fix for this problem is obviously not high on the priority list of either Microsoft or The Adventure Company. Too bad...
Rusty