Hi all,
If you are reading this, then I assume you are having technical difficulties with the game, Silver. This thread contains some of the basic solutions to most common technical problems reported with the game. Please read all the problem descriptions and follow the instructions according to whatever problem you are currently dealing with.
This thread will continually be updated with new information and/or instruction if any are found. If you believe there's something missing in the following content please first check the twin thread to this one (Silver's gameplay FAQ), as the problem may not be a technical one but a gameplay one. If you cannot find the solution in either thread then feel free to contact me via email or private message and I shall work to update the info ASAP.
If you have any further queries or are uncertain of any steps in the instructions, feel free to post on the forum and I and others will endeavour to respond to them the best we can.
One final thing: in severeal solutions below you will need to make the distinction between which version of Silver you have. The instructions for how to differentiate between US and UK/International English have been given at the bottom of this post.
Have a great time!
Simon Lai
aka Magician/Choja
InfogramesNA/InfogramesUK Silver forum moderator
email:
magician@ihug.com.au
ICQ: 37410586
MSN Messenger:
choja@hotmail.com
PS. I have re-organised the content of this thread according to when you may encounter the error whilst playing the game.
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First of all, if you are encountering any technical problems with playing the US version of Silver, I ask you to download and install the official patch prior to reporting any problems. The patch can be located at:
http://www.silvergame.com/downloads.shtml (you'll also find soundtracks and other goodies here).
Secondly, there is no official patch at all for the UK/International English version of Silver. There are quite a few un-official patches out however, which are available from my silver website (refer to Silver Links thread for the URL).
1) The game and/or installer won't start and you are currently running Win2k, WinME or WinXP.
Solution 1: right click on the program that you run to start the installer/game then choose properties. Somewhere there in one of the tabs should be a setting which enables compatibility mode between win95 or 98. This should make the game work. Note: I only have Windows98 myself, so I cannot give any more specific instruction than the above words. Sorry!
Solution 2: Go to
http://www.rmitton.com/silver/index.html and download then install the patch appropriate for your version of Silver.
Solution 3: Re-install the version of DirectX that's on your Silver CD 1. Doesn't matter if you already have the latest version of DirectX installed - just re-install it again. For some people this actually makes it work, though I don't know why.
Solution 3: I've been informed the NEW patch for the geforce doesn't seem the work. I've got the old patches still however, and have uploaded them to:
http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~magician/
2) There are horizontal graphical distortion bars in the background rendered image and I am using one of the video cards in the GeForce family.
Solution: Go to
http://www.mitton.fsnet.co.uk/silver.html and download then install the patch appropriate for your version of Silver.
3) Window's screen capturing doesn't seem to work.
Solution: Window's screen capturing may not work in some DirectX applications. You will need a 3rd party program to do a screen capture. A freeware one is available from
http://www.hyperionics.com/ (the freeware version is the older version of one of the software from that site).
4) The Boatman in Rain won't accept my cursed doubloon.
Solution 1: You need to have talked with the professors at Gno before the boatman will take you to the next stage of the game.
Solution 2a: There is a bug associated with the UK/International English version where if you talk to the Boatman first prior to the professor at Library of Gno and/or obtaining the cursed doubloon then the Boatman may never accept the cursed doubloon no matter what you do. If you have an earlier savegame prior to have spoken to the Boatman then I recommend you to load from that savegame to continue.
Solution 2b: If you do not have an earlier savegame, you'll need to obtain one from another player (I can supply savegames for US or UK/International English). Soon I will be making these savegames available for download from my website (URL can be located in the Silver Links thread).
5) The game crashes either randomly or at the swamp after the fire tree/Fuge.
Solution 1: You need to slow down your computer to around a low-end Pentium speed machine. One way of doing this is using CPU Killer, available from
http://digilander.iol.it/robyrobo/P...r/download.html .
Solution 2: Quaff a potion of enchanted armour on your character/s prior to enter the area.
Solution 3: Remove ALL magic orbs and wield normal weapons/armours instead.
Solution 4: Change your party formation by going back to the Rebel Camp.
6) When the monk gives me the ethereal potion and my character drinks it, the game crash.
Solution 1: Make sure the character drinking the ethereal potion quaffs a potion of enchanted armour PRIOR to speaking with the monk and getting the ethereal potion.
Solution 2: Remove ALL magic orbs and wield normal weapons/armours instead.
7) The sewer bells won't ring and you are playing the UK/International English version of the game.
Solution 1: You're not ringing the bell - note that the bell is near the top of a small platform that you cannot reach with your character. You will hence need to shoot a projectile to hit it! Arming yourself with a projectile weapon won't work by itself - you will need to hold down a particular key whilst clicking at the bell in order to shoot it successfully. The exact key you need to press should be noted in the manual accompanying the game.
Solution 2: UK/International version of the game are known to contain the bug where despite ringing the bell the gate won't open. On my silver website (URL available from Silver Links thread) are the appropriate UNOFFICIAL patches that *may* resolve this problem - however, I cannot assure that it will work or that it's virus free (I didn't write the patch).
Solution 3: You may need to obtain a savegame where the gate is opened for you (I can supply savegames for US or UK/International English). Soon I will be making these savegames available for download from my website (URL can be located in the Silver Links thread).
8) You are playing the UK/International English version of the game and in the end-game sequence, your characters won't flee to avoid destruction.
Solution: UK/International version of the game are known to contain the bug where the characters simply won't run for some unknown reason. On my silver website (URL available from Silver Links thread) are the appropriate UNOFFICIAL patches that *may* resolve this problem - however, I cannot assure that it will work or that it's virus free (I didn't write the patch).
-=How to tell which version of Silver you have=-
The instructions will only inform you of the 2 different English versions that's available. All non-English versions are one of a kind and there are no patches (official or otherwise) for those versions.
To tell which English version of silver you have, look on the CD with the silver and blue lettering side on top.
- If it says (c) Infogrames United Kingdom Limited 1999., then you have the UK/International English version (this one is typically distributed in every English-speaking country except in the US)
- If it says (c) Infogrames North America., then you have the US English version (this one is typically distributed only in the United States)
