Upgrade to version 2.2 !

Joseph's Story 2.0 was released September 2009. 

Version 2.1 started shipping in October 2009. It had a minor tweak in the installer to correct a potential problem with the desktop icon. The CD may say still "2.0".

If you have version 2.0 or 2.1, you want to download the free version 2.2 update.  The Joe2.2Update.zip will update 2.0 and 2.1 versions to version 2.2. Read on...

Version 2.2 started shipping after February 16, 2010. 
It says "2.2" on the CD's label.

2.2 includes a number of improvements:

- more signs in the Hall of Dreams
- changed the jump-to menu to allow bypass of spiders
- adjusted options at the end of the program
- two or three minor tweaks at other places in the game
- new installer which installs the "ogg" audio codec in your operating system**

** Ogg is an open source audio format which many games use, including Joseph. Some customers' computers could not hear Joseph's background audio files, such as the music playing in the Dig Tent, -which are in the ogg format (--which was strange because Robin and Dabney's voices are in the ogg format and they played fine). Version 2.2 and the 2.2Update.zip contain the Ogg code installer.

If your Joe CD LABEL does not say "2.2" on it, then you should download the Version 2.2 Update

When you following the instructions, this update file will turn Joe 2.0 and 2.1 into version 2.2.

DOWNLOAD Instructions: 

This 11 meg download is in the ZIP file format. The download file is named Joe2.2update.zip. The zip file contains TWO FOLDERS.

After downloading Joe2.2update.zip to your Desktop, double click it to unzip it. It will ask where you want to unzip it to. We suggest you unzip it into a folder on your desktop.

Joe 2.2 Update INSTALL Instructions....  (after downloading)

Joe2.2update.zip contains two folders:  

1)  One folder is titled "Copy These Into Joseph Folder".   After unzipping the download, open this first folder and copy all the files in the folder to wherever you have installed Joseph (probably c:\joseph). In some cases, the files will replace existing files, which is okay.

Copy Help: Highlight all the files in that "Copy These..." folder with your mouse, and right click the highlighted file list. Select "Copy". Now navigate to c:\joseph folder... or wherever you installed Joseph, and open that folder. Right click inside that folder and select "paste".  You'll be asked if you want to 'replace' some files (ie, overwrite the old ones with the new ones). Yes you do!

2)  The second folder in the unzipped download file is titled "RUN THIS OGG INSTALLER".  Open that folder and double click the file "ogginstaller.exe".  This will add the ogg vorbis audio codecs to your system.

That's it!

Problems and Solutions for Joe 2.0, 2.1, 2.2

Not all these 'problems' below have yet been reported, but our past experience with our customers and our 3d games suggests we should go ahead and predict problems and offer the solutions now. Lotta different machines out there.  If you have something to report, send an email to neil@sundaysoftware.com

Other Joe Links...
Teacher's Outline (with game tips)   |   Joseph's Story CD description page

If you are experiencing some sort of problem right at start-up, minimize or drag-out-of-the-way the Joseph start-up menu, and look at the white 'loading' screen behind it. It may have additional technical information, such as, telling you about Direct 3d or giving you a file name.

If you want us to look into your system specs and videoram/chip situation, send us the DirectX Diagnostics report from your computer by clicking the Windows START button, and typing "dxdiag" in the RUN field. This will pull up DirectX Diagnostics. Select "save all information" button and save that text file. Email it to us at neil@sundaysoftware.com

One of the first things I look at in your DXDIAG file is the DATE of your videodriver. Then I go to your videodriver's website and see if they have upgraded your driver (ie, fixed it). In 90% of all such cases, I find that the customer has an outdated driver. So if you want to, go ahead and look at the Dxdiag.txt report yourself. Write down the name of the video chip and date of its driver, then go to the computer manufacturer's website and go into their driver support area to see if they have released a new video driver. Drivers are easy to install.

Problem:  I can't hear the background music and sound files in the Dig Tent, or in Pharaoh's Palace, etc.

Solution: Download the Version 2.2 Update file (see notes above). I contains an application you can execute to install the Ogg Vorbis audio codec to your computer.

Problem: The opening video clip with the music ends abruptly.  Video clip stops.

Solution: If you click the screen or hit any key, it bypasses the video. Don't do that!

Problem: I can't see the opening video or videos won't play

Solution: Upgrade to Windows Media Player 10 or higher

Problem: Starting game from Desktop Icon creates dll error messages, "bencup.mdl" error message, or similar won't start problem.

Solution: This only affected the very first run of Joe 2.0 CDs. To fix....RIGHT click the Desktop Icon and select PROPERTIES. Type c:\joseph in the "start in" field and click OK. We don't exactly know why some versions of XP and Vista need this 'start in' line, and others don't. Go figure.  Alternately, locate the run.exe file in the Joseph folder, Right click it and select "Send to" and "to desktop as a shortcut." This will give you a new desktop shortcut.

Problem: In opening video, the girl (Robin) looks blotchy and green-screeny.  (or other videoclips in the game)

Solution: Make sure you have Windows Media Player 10 or higher installed on your computer. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia

Problem: Error Msg: "Acknex has to close" Game shuts down.

Solution: Acknex is the company name for the A6 game engine. It can close for a lot of reasons. 

The first reason it might bomb out is that your computer isn't fast enough to handle the program.

The second reason is likely a poor performing videocard/chip and/or video driver. Even on a newer computer, videodrivers can be problematic. On a rebuilt or reformatted used computer, the incorrect driver might have been installed.

Do this:  In XP...Click your Windows START button, then type dxidag in the Run field.  In Vista or Windows7, click the START button and type dxdiag in the Search field, then double click dxdiag.exe file name.     This will start DirectX Diagnostics. Click the Save Information button, save it to your desktop, and email us that text file. If your church computer doesn't have internet access, copy that file to a disc or usb flash drive and take it to a computer that does have email. Send it to neil@sundaysoftware.com as an attachment. We can't diagnose your "has to close" problem without looking at all the info in that file.

To self-service this error message, do the following:  Run dxdiag and click the "Display" tab. Then write down your videodriver's file name and date of issue. Go to your computer manufacturer's website to see if they have released a videodriver update (they probably have) that fixes incompatibilities.

Other option: Click the Joseph start-up icon and select Properties, then Compatibility. Select "run as XP" or "run as Windows Me/98" and see if that helps the program/video driver settle down.

If you have XP, you can adjust the graphic performance of your computer to play nice with a program like Joseph. In some cases, this cures the problem with Acknex. Go into your Control Panel and click DISPLAY, ADVANCED, TROUBLESHOOTING, and slide the slider back a notch from "full." This slows down the 'hand off' process with the processor and videochip to avoid problems in XP.  If you have Vista, you have to go into your Graphic Properties and see if your chip's software allows you to make adjustments. Some do, many don't.

Problem: When I try to start Joseph I get an "Resource Stream" error message.

Solution: Look on your Windows taskbar, Right click on any open Joseph programs and close them.  Reason: When Joseph starts up, it loads an exe file. When it closes, sometimes this extra resource window doesn't close, and if you go to restart the game from the icon, it gives you a resource stream error.

Problem:  I have a Dell Optiplex computer and joe won't run on it.

Solution: The Optiplex videochips are garbage worse than budget chips. Go buy an inexpensive low profile videocard ...one that fits in the Optiplex low profile case.

Problem: Opening seems to hang after I click "Play Game"

Solution:
It can take a minute to load the first game level and video, especially on a slow machine. But if it goes longer than a minute, grab the A6 dialog box with your mouse and drag it off the side. Look at the white box underneath. A6 is testing your computer and may be giving your an error message which was hidden by the Play Game dialog box. Record it and report it exactly to us.

Problem:  I get the message "Direct3D error: driver failure." (This message is coming from the game engine's test of your videochip/driver. Your videocard or driver is out of date.)

Possible solutions: 
1. Update your videodriver. 2. Your videochip/card is too old, replace it. 3. Download and install DirectX 9.0 for XP or higher for Vista/W7. www.microsoft.com/directx

If your videochip is an S3 or Via, or "ProSavage DDR" and your computer is older than 5 years old... install a newer videocard.

Problem: Robin seems to be walking very slow -or her movement is herky jerky, ...and other similar "slow play" or "slow loading" anomalies.

Explanation: In certain areas of the underground ruins, gameplay can slow down on some computers because of the complexity of the level which the game engine is attempting to "render" for your viewing pleasure. This rendering frame rate is dramatically affected by the quality of your videocard/chip, processing power, amount of available ram, and amount of videoram. Some areas of the game are more susceptible to herky-jerky frame rate issues than others.

Solution A: Press your "page down" key or aim your mouse down a bit. This will improve the herky jerky framerate problem. Why? Because the game doesn't have to render in real time objects in the distance because Robins' gaze is a bit down.

Solution B: At start up, select the 800x600 and 16 bit color option. This will adjust the game in a nearly imperceptible way, but will significantly improve the game's 3d rendering process.

Solution C: How much RAM do you have there!  512 is a bare minimum. Add more RAM to your computer, and more videoram. 3d games hammer the processing power of every computer. If your computer was made before 2005, it could need such an upgrade. Also... obviously not all computers are created equal. Some were business-budget machines which you're now attempting to play a 3d game on. Even though your computer may 'technically' meet our recommended minimum, there are simply too many variables between computers to guarantee that Joseph will run well on your computer, even though it might run just fine on a similar computer. For example, not all videochips with 16mb of ram are equally as good or as fast.

Problem: "Not enough Virtual Memory"  "Low Virtual Memory"

Solution: This is your computer telling you that it doesn't have enough RAM to properly run the game, so it's trying to simulate "virtual memory" on your harddrive, which all modern computers do. Your older computer doesn't have enough space on the harddrive allotted for enough virtual memory. If your computer isn't THAT old, then a RAM upgrade could easily cure this situation. But  if it's that old, ram may not be the only thing it needs.

Problem: Opening screen says "loading 100 %" but game takes another 30 seconds or more to start.

Solution:
Load times are relative to your computer's speed. And the "loading" being referred on THAT screen is the loading of the systems test which the game engine runs to determine your computer's capabilities and then make adjustments. If you minimize the opening screen, or drag it away with your mouse, you'll see the white box of the test running underneath on your system. When it's done, the game will start.  If that test-box has error info in it, write it down and send it us.

Problem: At the end of the game, I listened to third brother then wanted to go see the study note in that level, but was only given an option to either go to the Dig Tent, or exit the game.

Solution: 
Download our 2.0.1 update. We fixed that. The 2.0.1 update only fixes the end of the game, plus one of the credit graphics. Unzip the download into the folder where you installed Joseph (probably c:\joseph)

Problem: I walk up to Dabney but he doesn't do anything.
I'm in the Dream Hall and Dabney is just standing there.

Solution:
The game works by triggering a series of events. Dabney moves to certain locations and when you walk up to him, sometimes he has something to say. If he has nothing to say and just stands there, it means you are supposed to be doing something else.

In the Dream Hall, for example, after you walk up to him and talk to him at the illustration of Joseph's coat, he tells you to go into the Wheat room. After the Wheat narration you must walk into the blinking circle and then come back out and talk to Dabney. After he tells you to go to the Stars/Moon Room, you will talk to him again about finding the Well room. If you don't go into the dream rooms at his prompting, he will have nothing more to say to you until you follow his instructions.

Note: When he's walking to reach a location, he will stop IF you come up to him. Move away and let him continue on.

Problem: I can't grab the airblaster in the Dig Tent.

Solution:
You must first talk to Dabney outside the tent, and then follow him into the tent. He'll stand by the entrance to the underground tunnel. Walk up to him and he'll remind you to grab the airblaster, THEN you can grab it (there will be a blinking ring under it).

Problem: Robin seems is stuck in something.

Solution:
In a 3d environment as complex as Joseph's story, the wire frame character of Robin can get hung up on the wireframe models and objects from time to time. One area I always get her stuck: jumping up into the scaffolding on the final level. Press ESC and reload the level, then later, send us a note about where Robin got stuck.

Problem:  Direct3d Error Message. Nobody has reported this yet, but we know someone will!

Solution:
Direct3d is part of your operating system's suite of files which interface with game software like Joseph. If you get a Direct3d error, it probably means that your videodriver and/or videochip/card is not up to snuff. We see this on old computers which someone has upgraded to XP and neglected to upgrade the videocard. Or they didn't install the right driver. Click Start, then RUN, and type "dxdiag" to run DirectX Diagnostics. Select the 'save report' option and send us that text file. Or...use the info in DxDiag to diagnose the  brand and age of your videochip/driver and go to the manufacturer's website to see if they have updated the driver. If your videocard or videochip was made before 2003, upgrade it.

Problem: The Joe graphics/screen seems stretched too wide.

Solution:
You are probably viewing the game on a wide-aspect laptop or monitor (example: a 15.4 laptop screen). The game is designed to stretch-to-fill whatever screen setup you have created. Different computers and graphic cards handle this differently. Go into your Windows Control Panel and open up your Display or Graphic Card's control program. Set your display to a 4:3 proportion, such as 800x600 or 1024x768, or select "maintain aspect ratio" ...if your graphic card/chip/driver offers you such an option.

For example, on my Vista laptop computer, Joe stretches a little too wide. So I go into my Window Control Panel, open up the Intel Graphics controller panel, and select "Maintain Aspect Ratio."  Now Joseph looks fine. Doesn't affect other programs like IE or Word.

If you need more help than this page offers, contact Neil at neil@sundaysoftware.com.