This page deals with Joseph CD installation and operation problems --even if they've only been reported by one customer. It also has numerous suggestions for tweaking the performance of your PC to run 3-D style games. If you need more help than this page offers, contact Neil at neil@sundaysoftware.com or call 800-678-1948 (M-F 10-4 EST).

If don't have version 1.3 VISIT OUR JOE DOWNLOAD PAGE FOR FREE UPDATES

Quick Tech Answers 1) If you have Windows 98, make sure your Win98 version of DirectX is 8.1 or higher. Windows98 was released with 7.0. There's a copy of 8.1 in a folder on the Joseph CD. Install it. To see which version you're running, Click "Start" and type "dxdiag" in the "Run" field. 2) Make sure you have an 8 mb or higher videocard/chip that can support 3-D accelerated graphics. Some budget PCs of the Windows 98 era may have sub-standard video components. And make sure you have at least 500mhz processor. Also...even on a newer computer you can have a RAM crunch. Example: If you have only 128 mb of RAM, and have recently installed XP, and you have an integrated videochip you may have problems. XP is a ram hog. It needs 128mb of ram mostly for itself. If you have integrated videochip, it ALSO needs ram from the system ram --which XP is hogging.  And so does Joseph. This problem has been noticed by those who upgraded an older computer to XP but didn't install more ram. 3) In XP, make sure you are running Joseph from the main user account, not a limited privileges acct. 4) If you can't see the opening LOGO screen with the pyramids, and are getting an Indeo Video Codec error message at startup, click here for the easy fix. 5) If you have XP Pro, or are having problems that this page doesn't solve click here and read this, 6) Try setting Joseph's XP Compatibility Mode to "Run as Windows 98" program. To do so, right click the Joseph Start icon. Select Properties then Compatibility then Run as W98. This isn't required of most computers, but has solved at least one customer's XP Home, and XP Pro edition problem with Joseph. 7) If Joseph FREEZES UP during play, and especially if it freezes while trying to save a game, it may be that you don't have enough video ram or main system ram. Turn off all other software, including antivirus software. Reboot your computer and test Joseph again. Follow step 6 above. If that doesn't solve it, you may have to "turn down" your Windows hardware accelerator a notch or two before playing. The newer/faster the computer, the more you may have to turn it down so that it doesn't 'outrun' Joseph's game engine code. Microsoft includes this adjustable accelerator so you can adjust the variables between your particular videocard/driver, your computer's speed, and the 3-D game which you are trying to play. Here's how to temporarily turn down your hardware accelerator: 1) Open your Windows Control Panel and double click DISPLAY PROPERTIES. 2) Double click "Settings".   Now look at two things. First set your display setting to 800x600, Joseph's native resolution. You can set this back to whatever you had it at, after you're done playing Joseph.  Second, CLICK "ADVANCED".  Now click "TROUBLESHOOT."  Slide the slider down two notches to begin with, and select OK. Now try to run Joseph again. If the program freezes again, repeat the above steps and slide the Accelerator slider down one more notch.

Reported Installation & Game Play Problems 

--"I get an error message at start-up that reads '...missing export DDRAW.DLL' blah, blah blah"

This means your older computer's DirectX system file is out of date. Open up the DirectX folder we've included on the CD and install a new version of DirectX. In version 1 of Joseph, the folders read "for Win 95" or "for Win 98." The Win 98 folder's version of DirectX works on ME as well. If you have XP you won't get this error message because XP has the newer DirectX file in it.

--When installing and trying to run Joseph for the first time you get this error: "Acknex has encountered a problem & needs to close"

One customer has reported this on XP. Oddly enough, when she turned her NUM LOCK 'off' on her keyboard, the programmed worked fine.

--"I see strange weirdness, floating stuff, black/empty areas on the screen as if part of the screen isn't fully painted." (or other types of weirdness).

Graphic weirdness is often the sign of a bad videodriver. Even NEW computers can have problems if the videodriver that came installed is not the latest version of the driver We've seen video weirdness recently (but not exclusively) on a Dell 2400 and Inspiron 6000 with integrated videochips. Solution:  Go to your computer manufacturer's website and check for updated videodrivers. For more about this issue, read this. DELL's support page (support.dell.com), look up your computer model and videochip set model number and download their latest driver for your chipset. To determine your graphics chipset model, Click Start, Click Run, Type "dxdiag". This will open the Windows DirectX diagnostics panel. Select the "Display" tab and write down the chipset version and write down the date the driver was created. Read the following tech solution article for more help.   If this doesn't solve your problem, then you probably have a poor videochip or card. Try installing a real videocard from tigerdirect.com ($45). Integrated video is often the source of performance anomalies -especially with XP and a low ram situation. We recommend all computers have the very latest video drivers installed or real videocards installed. We also recommend turning of ram hogging and program interfering ANTI-Virus programs.

-I have Windows XP PRO and the following error message at startup: "Fatal engine error E356 and Problem with WDL script." Click here for a special discussion about XP PRO and Joseph.

--"The opening video/music doesn't play. The game just opens up in Robin's dorm room."
-- "I'm getting an IndeoVideo Codec error message at startup.

Your operating system needs the updated version of the Indeo Video codec. We put a copy of it on the Joseph CD. Use WindowsExplorer/MyComputer to browse the CD and find the Indeo file. Double click to install.  OR.....Download it from http://www.sundaysoftware.com/bongo/Indeo.zip. It's a 1.9 mb file. So you'll need to burn it to a CD, then copy & carry to your Joseph computer, unzip it and install it from there. A codec instructs your operating system how to decompress a video. If you don't have an unzipping utility (which is a very common one to have) download the free trial version at www.winzip.com.

--"I've fallen through the airport asphalt."

Several persons have reported that this happened to them and they were able to use JUMP-RIGHT keys to jump back on asphalt. This crack in the asphalt was closed in version 1.3.

--"Robin's body or foot seems stuck in an object."

Sometimes the floor has an invisible bump (for some reason other than a rat). Robin is a model with a wide stance. Her feet stick out a bit and she can catch the edges of walls/doors/objects. Steer her "between." Jump over the location or slide around it. If she becomes permanently stuck please note the exact location and object she is stuck to and let us know. We know for example that when you crouch and crawl beneath the pillar in the prison you can stand Robin up right through the stone (without getting stuck). Read the revised outline for more help.

--"Robin seems to get stuck sometimes and can't move ahead."

This can happen if a rat is at her feet, or if her shoulder/arm is too close to a wall or pole. Scooch her side to side and try jumping her around things. There are two anomalous places (mistakes) in the program where Robin can get permanently stuck:  around the base of the airport stairs, and in Pharaoh's fountain. Stay away from them.

--The Helicopter....  I entered the helicopter and it doesn't move.

Press F1 key for a set of controls. "S" key to start forward motion.  A/Z = up/down  K/L = Left/Right.
WARNING: do not press the "E" key during the helicopter flight. For some reason it locks up the game.

--"The guards have me trapped."

Keep trying! Jump around and keep bumping them. Jump while shuffling left/right/forward/back. Usually within 60 seconds one of them will move slightly out of the way. ALWAYS outrun the slavetraders and guards. If you are hopelessly trapped we can send a rescue team, but you may have to restart the game.

--"I hear two sound files playing."

You've somehow hit an invisible sound trigger twice. Don't worry about it. This is easy to do on the final level when approaching Sir Dabney on the scaffolding. Approach him first, then wait til he is done talking, THEN put the cup in the obelisk (which triggers another Dabney vocal).

--"I try to grab the key/ankh in Potiphar's house but can't seem to do it."

It's above a low wall by the pool. You need to jump UP & Forward onto the wall to grab the key. Then run like heck to the heiroglyphic wall where there's a picture of the key!  Press your spacebar to now open that door. But watch out...Potiphar is on the other side.

--"How do I get out of Potiphar's house?"

--you need to get the key/ankh which appears next to Potiphar's wife and take it to the large graphic door that has a picture of the key on it ...and hit your spacebar.

--"My view of Robin on the screen sometimes takes me outside the walls."

We recommend using "first person" mode for most of the game. Use your F7 key to toggle back and forth between views. In general, only have Robin fully appear on screen some of the time.

--"When I see Robin on the screen and start to move, the screen shakes."

You're in "third person - I can see Robin" mode which we recommend in the manual, study guide and on this page NOT TO USE in most places in the game. The "camera view" of Robin that follows her is bumping against walls. Use your F7 key to switch views.

-- I get stuck in the water trap in the hallway (the place where I should have walked across on the board).

Yes, this is a nasty little trap. Due to Robin's rather long stride, you'll need to position her this way to jump out: First, back up to one side of the water trap, then press your forward and jump key simultaneously. You may have to do this several times before she gets the exact combination of forward motion and jumping motion to exit the trap. If you're stuck, go to the save game menu and load the last position you were in before you got to the trap (you ARE saving 'safe' positions aren't you?).

--I'm having trouble crawling underneath the fallen pillar. Remember, Robin has wide feets, use your crouch key (end) and forward key to scootch her underneath the pillar.

--The helicopter flys slow on one of my computers, but faster on another.

--Yeah, this has to do with the computer processor's speed and particular code we used to move over the landscape.

--When I tried to enter the helicopter the program gives and error message and shuts down.

This is only been reported once on a laptop running XP Home. Solution: set the XP compatibility mode for Joseph to "run as Windows 98."

--When I go to save a game I see only a red box.
--I don't understand how to save a game.

Yeah, when you first save to this screen none of the "save slots" are filled in. Here's how it works: There are several slots on the "save" screen you can use your arrows to go up and down then your ENTER KEY to select a slot (it turns red) then you must type something like "save1." In the next version will type in "save" in the slots so they are easier to see. You, however, can do this now by yourself.

--I have XP and can't seem to save a game.

Make sure you are running Joseph in the main user account, not a limited access one. Joseph needs to be able to write to a file on the harddrive in order to save your location in the game.

--The black screen with red letters at the beginning of my program startup says "weak video device detected" or "no HAL compatible device detected."

This is the game engine testing your system and deciding whether or not your computer can operate Joseph's Story. Normally this means your videocard is really old or off-standard. But we have had one case where they had a brand new videocard and still received this message. What they discovered was that their version of DirectX was out of date, but the error message was reporting "weak video..." There's a copy of DirectX 8.1 for Windows 98 on the CD in a folder. This version of DirectX will also work on ME. (XP comes with 9.0 which also works with Joseph.)

--The black startup screen on one computer says "1024 textures" ...but on another computer it says "2048 textures."

--The game engine can adjust the quality of its graphics depending on how much ram memory your videocard has. 1024 is a lower resolution for slower videocards. Images might appear a little jagged or darker.

--The black startup screen says I only have 7 mb of video memory.

--Your computer reserves 1mb of ram to achieve 16 bit "high color" display setting. If you have an 8 mb videocard and the startup screen says you only have 6mb of videomemory, then your display setting is probably set on 32 bit "true color." Open your Control Panel and Display properties and reset it to 16bit. Almost NO program in existence needs 32 bit true color.

--Graphics look all blocky, or dark, or awful.

You probably have a weak videocard and the program is trying to run inspite of your card being below spec. Watch the startup screen and it will tell you how much "videoram" your computer has available. 8 is good, 12 mb of videoram or more is better.

--Picture Frame of Bildad moves freaky around the dorm room. When loading, Direct 3D HAL weak device detected 2MB video ram max 512x512 texture. T

he customer who reported this tried to run Joseph on a 255mhz computer with only a 4mb videocard. Joseph tried to run (it set itself to 512x512 low textures, but the graphics and performance were whacked. Moral of the story: Know your system specs.

--Other Freaky Video Display Problem

...Some older graphic cards may not be able to handle Joseph's Story and some other game software that uses a 3-D engine. In particular, we recommend you stay AWAY from 3DFX's Voodoo graphic cards. Read this article for more help.

--"I went through a door in Pharaoh's Court and it sent me back to prison."

Hey, Sir Dabney warned you at the entrance to the Court not to make the wrong choice.

--"I get to the final level outside with the pillars and obelisk and don't know what to do next."

Robin has to climb the scaffolding and follow Sir Dabney's instruction on top. It's not easy to steer/jump up on the scaffolding. Her feet/stance is wide. You have to be precise.

--"I have 64 mb of RAM and my processor is 400 to 600mhz but some parts of the game seem to run slow." --

The problem is likely that your video/graphics "card" is not really a separate card all, but a video CHIP on the motherboard which steals ("shares") its RAM memory from your main motherboard's 64mb of RAM. That takes away memory from your operating system and the game trying to run. They call this way of building-in the video "integrated" or "shared video." It's a cost cutting measure. What they don't tell you is you now need MORE than 64mb of RAM because your RAM has to share with another component. A real video CARD has its own RAM on board and doesn't borrow from your main RAM. Our system specs are a MINIMUM 64 mb of RAM AND a minimum 8 mb of video ram. This means if you have an integrated videochip in your computer instead of a card, you need to have more than 64mb of system RAM. fyi.... Sunday Software has been warning folks about "integrated video" for some time. Fortunately, the solution is cheap: either buy a real videocard, or buy more RAM.

There is a performance difference between a budget "Celeron" brand processor running at 600mhz on a no-name brand computer, and a "Pentium III" brand processor running at 600mhz on a computer made by Dell (Dell builds computers with better components).

--"I'm having trouble hearing certain sound files, or some sound files seem to be missing or on low volume."

--Press F1 after the game begins, then "Options" and make sure the sound/voice sliders are up in the game's options panel.  Also make sure your "wave" volume slider is all the way up in your Windows sound Volume Control panel. Most speakers need to have their own power supply. Make sure the speakers are powered on and connected to an electrical outlet, and connected to the correct hole on the back of the computer. Some cheapy speakers have no amplification/power of their own and run off the computer's power. This may cause sound drop-offs with certain types of soundfiles in Joseph. Check your balance, and treble controls.

--"Joseph FREEZES UP during play,  or freezes while trying to save a game."
See the blue box at the top of this page for the solution

Things you can do to tweak Performance of your PC for Joseph and other new-style graphic intensive programs:

1. Make sure you have MORE THAN 64 mb of RAM on your computer. This is especially true if you ONLY have 64mb of RAM and you also have what's called "integrated" or "shared" video. See note just above this section for more details. Windows ME's minimum is 64mb of RAM and Windows 98 prefers to have 64mb of RAM, so they are competing with Joseph right from the start.

2. Make sure your DISPLAY SETTINGS are set to 16 bit High Color and not 32 bit True Color. It will buy you one more mb of video ram and be easier on the processor. The average person won't be able to tell the difference between High and True color and Joseph was designed for High Color.

3. Turn off all other programs running "in the background." This includes anti-virus software and lots of other tiny programs that creep in at start-up. To see what's running, press Ctrl-Alt-Del keys and take a look, or look at the icons in the bottom right "tray" of your desktop. AOL and Yahoo's Messenger programs are notorious for grabbing RAM at startup.

4. Reboot your computer prior to starting Joseph. Previously run programs may have "leaked" RAM ...or "grabbed" RAM and not let it go once they were terminated. Windows 98 and ME often let this happen. Things in XP are a little tighter.

5. Set your screen resolution to 800x600. A higher screen size of 1200x800 requires more system resources to "paint" and Joseph automatically tries to resize itself to whatever resolution you set.

6. Consider upgrading or installing a real video CARD if your computer does not have one. A 16mb or 32mb accelerated videocard runs about $30-$40 (occasionally even less), and every program you own will run better and look better with a real video/graphic card. The same goes for soundcards versus sound chips. Not all video CHIPS are bad. Some of the newer generation integrated video chips can borrow up to 32mb of system RAM and perform quite well. If you have integrated/share video, buy additional RAM for your system so it has more to "share" with the video chip. Some brands of older videocards may not work well with Joseph's Story's game engine. Stay away from "Voodoo" brand cards.

7. Turn down your Windows Hardware Accelerator... see the "Freezes" info in the BLUE BOX at the top of this page for more details.  There are several adjustment points on the Accelerator slider in Windows which Microsoft includes to adjust between the variables of system, speed, driver and game engine.

For a good source of inexpensive videocards to upgrade your older PC, go to www.tigerdirect.com, or compusa.com.

Most older computers have the PCI -type slot available to insert a videocard. So you will need a PCI slotted videocard. We recommend you stay with a name brand... ATI -Radeon, Creative Labs, or Nvidia -to name a few.

When all else fails...

In XP, try turning down your hardware accelerator. Lowering video hardware acceleration can resolve some display issues that occur while running programs. Right-click a blank area on the desktop and left-click Properties from the menu that appears. The Display Properties will open. Click the Settings tab. Click the Advanced button. Click the Troubleshoot tab. A window will open with the display adapter type identified on the title bar.
Locate the hardware acceleration adjustment bar. (It will show the words None and Full at each end.)
Record the current setting. Now move the slider one click to the left.
For the new setting to take effect, click Apply and then click OK.
Click OK again to close the Display Properties window.
Launch and use the program to see if the problem is resolved.
NOTE: If the issue remains, repeat the above procedure and move the hardware acceleration slide bar to the left one additional position. (Do not select the NONE setting, which is the setting to the far left.)

After closing the program, return to the Hardware Acceleration adjustment area of the Troubleshoot Tab (see above) and reset the hardware acceleration to the original setting. If lowering the hardware acceleration improved program performance, repeat the above procedure before launching and using the program.