I love this game. It is so much fun to build up the forts and defend the evil. All three of my children and I play the game together and devise a strategy on how to defeat the bad guys and win. Definetly a family game.

Alrighty, thanks!

Ahhh, I see. I didn't associate flicker with res changes, lol. Sorry I wasn't able to help. You should try some of the others that you can find via the link in my post at #1 in the Rise of Atlantis's comments section. There's around 30 match three games available for free.

If you're after a similar game to Deep Quest, I've posted a few rts games over in the forums. You can find them in the games synopsis thread, which is a sticky on the front page. You don't have to sign up to check the forums, only to post.

Regards

Stephen

I'll just post a reply here really quick, I don't have time to sign up for yet another forum at the moment, maybe next time. :)

What I meant by flicker is that the screen changes to whatever resolution it needs and turns black and rearranges windows and whatnot. Fullscreen games have always done this for me on all computers...

It's a laptop computer, so none of those things really apply. I don't think it's the graphics capabilities (yet anyway) because I can SEE the game, it just won't stay in focus. I've had this problem before in other games on other computers and was able to fix it by changing INI's that set the resolution to windowed mode. Ah well, I guess I just won't be able to play... :(

Thanks a lot for replying! :)

Hi Bob,

Games shouldn’t flicker when you boot them up. Do you have any problems playing other graphically intensive programs? If so, it could be an early indication that your graphics card is on the blink. I’ll describe what you can do to test whether or not your card is faulty below. However, before you start messing with your computer, try updating your graphics drivers and DX9.0. If these don’t cure the problem and assuming your computer does have a separate graphics card as opposed to just an onboard graphics chip, you can test this by isolating the computer from the mains supply and opening up the side of the computer. Remove the graphics card by unscrewing the cross head screw that keeps it locked in place. Don’t force the graphics card out. There’s usually a clip near to the socket that locks the card into the socket (unless it’s an older AGP socket). Once removed put the side panel back and reconnect to the mains. — Oh yeah, unplug the monitor socket from the graphics card socket before you do anything as well. Once removed plug the monitor socket into the motherboards monitor socket.

Try some of the less graphically intensive games to see if the flickering is still occurring.

Some motherboards don’t actually have a graphics chip installed. You can tell if the computer has a motherboard supported graphics chip by looking to the rear of your computer and seeing if there’s a spare socket near to where all the USB sockets are. Please note that most graphics cards also have two sockets now as well.

One final thing, if your computer is relying on just the motherboards onboard graphics chip, it may not have enough memory to run the program effectively. There are animations which makes the game a little more graphic intensive than other games.

I hope the above has helped. Please post any other problems or queries over in the games discussion forums in the appropriate thread. Thanks.

Regards Whiterabbit

I want to try this game... but when I run it, the screen flickers (as full-screen games normally do) and then the game goes out of focus. I can hear the music, but when I click on the application in the taskbar, it appears for one moment and then minimizes/goes out of focus again and I see desktop... I really want to try the game...

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Xbox/Live-Arcade has a very similar game, and this one rates just a bit better in my opinion. Much better storyline & graphics are just as good. With an RROD in my Xbox, this is a great replacement for Bejeweled! (...even if I had access to both!)

...mb great game, but I "love" programs not respecting Windows' habits 'bout where to put programs ('n' calls) and their data! And intellectual challenging error messages:
After overwriting preset paths the installation went normal -
but first try to launch the game gave a flicr and a popup, saying:
Graphics error: An exeption has been thrown!
Details:
Error #: -2005530516 [ALL errors seemed to be negative!!]
Function: D3D9RenderWindow::createD3DResources
Description: Failed to create Direct3D9 Device: Invalid call.
File: \OgreDev\Dagon\RenderSystems\Direct3D9\src\OgreD3D9RenderQWindow.cpp
Line: 516
Stack unwinding: ... [OK]
______
Anyone with a good idea?
[XP pro 2002, SP3; multicore @ 3.00 GHz; 3.25 GiB RAM]

This game is actually harder than I thought it'd be! The monsters sure seem overpowered with their much stronger units :)

I gave it a thumbs up for game play, but the forced full screen & having to restart the game to get the single resolution option for windowed mode to work is ridiculous for this era in high resolution displays & HDTV.

Not being an experienced gamer, I had never played an RTS before this. I got this in November (assuming this is the same version. If it is, what's that on the daily giveaway page about a new game?) and have kept it, but I don't see the attraction. In November, I got through the first quest and then the 2nd dragged on FOREVER, and I lost interest. I figure that it's something I'm doing, probably building too slowly/innefficiently to trigger the Gordlons. But isn't that counterintuitive? Normally, an enemy attacks you with a small force when your weak, not after you've built a small army. That probably has nothing to do with it, but I'm too dense to see any pattern, yet.

I haven't touched it since November. I replayed the 1st Quest tonight to see if I was missing something, but it, again, took forever. I built 4 or 5 hamlets, 5 gnomes, about 20 merboys, and then FINALLY get attacked by 3 (THREE?) Gordlons from only one of 2 possible directions. I use 6 while all the others stand guard (and the gnomes mine away), lose 3, kill 3 and the INCREDIBLY exciting quest is over. I killed the better part of an hour in this reptition that had a payoff that didn't last 5 minutes. I don't put it sarcastically to insult anyone here. Still, I don't see the attraction. Posters say it gets more complicated, which, of course, you would expect. I sure hope so, but I don't know if I can take the boredom waiting to get there.

It would seem to me that you'd have early missions be short. After all, anybody gets the hang of building hamlets and training soldiers after the first few, you don't need to do it more than a half dozen times to get it down. When I play match 3, it may be very repetitive, but at least I get a new screen every few minutes. I think this tendency to let these intro. quests drag on is what a few posters the first two times this was given away meant by the AI not being very intelligent. I don't know about that, but this is the first game I ever played that didn't try to grab your attention early. These repetitive actions are pretty much like watching paint dry. I'll keep this and maybe I'll get around to perservering long enough for it to get interesting, but I'm not sure what my motivation would be. Deep Quest developers, I respect what you're trying to do, but make it more exciting earlier for people who aren't so efficient in RTS that they can force the action early. At least I'm assuming that's what's happening since some people are saying things like "10 minutes". I wish!

Apparently, I downloaded and activated this game when it was offered back in 1/08 but never played it. Haha, oops. I played a bit tonight and enjoyed it. The graphics are decent and the game play is fun. The mouse moves a little funny but I got used to it quickly. Overall, good game. Thanks GGOTD!

I installed this game this morning but just now tried to play it. I got an error message:
"This application has failed to start because OgreMain.dll was not found. Re-installing the application amy fix this problem."

So, I re-installed the game and got the same message. Any suggestions?

Installed properly ..... I think -

In the end too many windows were open - Note to programmers at GOTD and Deep Quest - too many windows open can lead to the user closing them in the wrong order

OK MAJOR BUG

The program seemed to start OK but locked up at the main menu. The music was playing, but the mouse wasn't working.

It was still working for the two previous screens

I had to switch out of the program and the program fault window opens up

Claims this is still the BETA version of the program

It still needs some work

Hi Kathryn, yes, just uninstall it, though I don’t know how it could be causing your computer problems. Do you mean when it’s running, or even when it’s closed down?

I’ve mentioned the path where you’ll find the games folder above in one of my other comments.

To Kaiser, if it’s saying failed to connect, you may have to temporarily turn off your fire wall, or clean out your internet cache. To do this right click on the internet icon. In Internet Explorer you select internet properties and the rest will be obvious. A window opens up which has several options. Look for the browsing history section. Click on the delete to remove all the temporary files and other useless junk. If none of these work try rebooting your modem and/or wireless router.

I hope the above help.

Regards

Whiterabbit

downloaded to Vista without a problem and than loaded fine. First time I've played this type of game and had to get my 15 yr old son to help. ha ha. Once I had it figured out it was ok, not my type of game but he will enjoy it. And you really can't complain since it was free. (yeah free stuff) I though it was going to be a hidden object game this weekend and was disapointed though as thats my fav other than RPG. Keep up the good work though as I really love all you do for us as really its not a bad game if you like this type. It even let me create a short cut and I'm not computer savey.

I need help, when I tried to use the setup, when it was saying it was connecting to the website, it said failed to connect, try again later. I tried again later, but it still said the same thing. Can anyone help me on what to do before time runs out to install the game?

So to uninstall do I just need to delete the folder with the game in it? It's causing problems with my computer and I want to get rid of it.

Hi again gonwk,

The game doesn't install to Program files so will not show in the add/remove programs. There are few registry entries for this game because it is free standing. Once installed and activated it can be copied to disc and reinstalled (manually) at any time. To delete it you will have to go to C:\games\Deep_Quest_Build (assuming you didn't change the default installation path).

The game is fully mouse controlled. You have to select a piece to move by right clicking on it then use the left mouse button to move the piece to wherever you wish it to go. It takes time to get the hang of it if you've never played a rts game before, but once mastered can give hours of pleasure. The game has a lot of replayability due to the sandbox nature of the game.

Sorry you didn't enjoy it. Maybe the next game. :lol:

Regards

Whiterabbit

Hi WhiteRabbit THANKS for your relpy.

The game installed A-OK. And I tried playing it ... and I with "gmon" number 19 poster ... it is an Extremely Difficult game to play ... I tried playing it on my laptop just with a Mouse ... and it is not Happening. Very unintuiative game.

Q: How in the world do you uninstall this game? It does not show up in Add/Remove tab and I do NOT see an Uninstall Command within the Program Folder.

FYI ... I did scan several of the Programs components (DeepQuest.exe, Zlib1.dll, ILU.dll, ...) via VirusTotal and the results came back CLEAN ... No Virus or Trojans.

Thanks,

G!:)

I used to have this one.
It is fun to play til, I get into upper levels, games began to get annoying

Hi gonwk, this is a singleplayer only game. I would have mentioned if there was online playability. Most game giveaways are singleplayer only, with the occassional game that includes both SP anf MP play and only one that has been given away has been mainly multiplayer and that was called SAGA.

I am Totally NEW to Gaming ... so I wish folks who are Expert and Game a lot in their Review to put if the Game CAN be played offline. I am totally against online game playing for me!

THANKS!

G!:)

I downloaded this last time it was offered and it's still on my computer. It's a really well-done and fun RTS. I highly recommend it.

I really liked this game when it was given away back in January 2008.

I play it still, over and over.
looks simplistic on the surface, but it's not.
I just wish the programmers would update it with new scenarios etc.
or just release some add-on packs.


it's a very cool little strategy game

thanks

HAPPY EASTER GUYS, THANKS FOR LOADS OF FUN TIME OUT - GOD BLESS

Hi TwentyCats, rts means ‘Real Time Strategy’ where you control lots of characters, (usually) and buildings. Resource management and strategic battles figure a lot in the game. The genre is derived from the old war games where you used hexagonal counters on a large gridded board.

Sheri, if you’re looking to save space on your computer use your disc copying software (which will probably be Nero considering the computer is quite old) If you don’t know how to use your disc copying software, firstly you need to find out what software you have for copying data to disc. Once you’ve found out what the software is Google for instructions. There are many sites on the internet that will give you good advice. If you’re not sure just post a question in the giveaway forums.

If you’re not sure what your copying (authoring) software is because you’ve got a bewildering number of files on your computer, Google disc copying software, which should come up with many of the more common disc authoring software packages, then you can see if you have one of those..

You definitely need to activate it on your computer first before you copy it to disc, otherwise you will be disappointed when you come to play it at a later date.

I hope the above helps.

***oops, forgot to ask: Can we download a game from GGAOTD straight to a disk or do we need to activate it before putting onto disk? If I can't do it here, maybe can do that on one of my kid's comps. :)

Ok...need help! How does a person save a game installed on comp onto a disk....or...put into a zipped folder...so I can save the games and free up space on comp to download more games? I really want this game, but, do not want to lose the games I already have on comp! Some of the games are for the grandchildren to play...they have a comp here to play games on that isn't able to be online...would like to copy games so they can play on that comp, but, don't have the instruction booklets for this comp (it's second-hand).

I have a Windows XP home edition (Compaq Presario)Actually a very good comp for being 7 years old, and one of the inexpensive models at that time. (first owned by an older grandchild) :)

Thanks all! :)

RTS!? I have to think at work. If I have to think at play, then play becomes work. So I may as well work instead of play. And all I wanted to do was play. Maybe if I watch it long enough it will get tired of waiting for me and start on its own. But that would be a screensaver, not a game. Oh well.

Am downloading this game as I have had great fun with all the previous games I have from GGOTD ... one question, what does RTS mean ? Thank you ! Blessed Easter to all a GGOTD.

It's not so great. Then again, this coming from a Starcraft fan... But, hey, it's free!

Thanks sheculby


It's possible that your drivers may be out of date. The game is relatively graphic intensive (not by the standards of more recent games though), so you may need to update your graphics drivers and also go to the microsoft web site and get DX9.0c. If you're not sure how to do the former, go to your start menu and click on run, then type in dxdiag. This brings up the Direct X diagnostics window. Click on the display tab. From here you can see what graphics card/chip manufacturer your grapics is (Usually NVidia or ATI). Go to the appropriate web site (Googling the name will bring up the home page for either company) and input the information they ask you for - usually your OS platform and the graphcs card model (which you get from the diagnostics window). If you have any problems sorting it out please post a query in the forums . Use the link I've added to my firt post above that takes you to the review in the games discussion forums. I'll check back this evening and post more help if needed.

There are other things you can try as well such as defragmenting your drive. If you've installed and deleted a lot of programs but not defragmented your hard drive recently, then it could very well be the problem. The more defragmented your drive, the more each program is broken up into packets of information during installation. If the game has been installed to many different locations on the hard drive it may come up with an error even though the game itself is okay. Defragmenting your drive will stop this happening.

Also try changing your screen resolution from the control panel.

The game is free standing, meaning that you could save the games installed folder and try it on other computers. It should still work as a fully registered game.

Perhaps delete the gae from the computer and re download it from the mirror link.

regards

Whiterabbit

I am not a big RTS fan, but I did enjoy playing this one last time around. It is definitely worth a try if you are at least casually interested in the real-time strategy style of game.

LOVE IT!!!!!!

This is a great site and i have never had any problems with a game from here till now. Would love for someone to give me a hint about what might be wrong. i load the game and get the opening screen where you can start the game or go to options, and it freezes cant move my mouse. So i hit the Ctrl+Alt+Delete and i got an error box that reads: An unexpected error had been encountered. Please copy Atlantis.log, CEGUI.log and Graphics.log and submit it in the beta forums. Also be sure to describe the steps you took to replicate this error. Well i have no clue how to do any of that. wondered if anyone else was having a similar problem.
P.S. Enjoy your family and holiday Whiterabbit!!

Fun game, definitely enjoyable... has hookups on my system though -

Why is it terrible Cabbar?

It's terrible :(

Thanks so much, Merscom & Big Fish & GOTD! :)

For a 7$ game, this looks very amazing... definitely something to get

This is a ridiculously low priced game for such decent graphics! The developers shd work on adding more missions to abt 30-100 and raise the price by atleast $10... and best of all, if can have networking can add another 10-20 bucks easy.

Thanks been waiting to get this, I missed the chance to get it previously.

Has this game been updated from the last version?

Very fine review for a games newbie like me! Thanks a lot!!

That's true :)

Wow, this looks great for a giveaway, GGAOTD... many thanks! And thanks, Wrabbit for the review and other suggestions... though a bargain, they're not free (as you did point out). Seems to be lots of well-affordable games out there now, but it's always nice to be handed one, no strings attached.

The first time this was given away back in January 2008 it received a positive 74% of 426 votes, with 82 comments many of which are worth reading for a well rounded review of this game. It was given away a second time in November 2008 when it received a less favourable response with a positive 56% of 437 votes and 49 comments most of which were not worth reading. You can check out the comments from these previous giveaway days via the two links below:

Jan 08:



See previous comments from Nov 08 HERE
Nov 08:




See previous comments from Nov 08 HERE

The 36.4Mb file once installed is only 44Mb in size. That’s very small for an rts game. The activation module and setup are combined into one module, so installation is a breeze. :) The default location for installation is C:\games, and it is installed as Deep Quest Build. The version appears to be the same as the last time this was given away (according to the Read Me found withing the games installed folder, thugh there was a slight difference in the size of the installed game. The installation from Jan 08 was 44.9Mb and today's is 44.8Mb


Introduction & Game info:

Deep Quest takes you to the watery realms of the Deep, where an epic battle between Abyssians and Gordlons is underway. You will command the Abyssian Defense Force and undertake 10 Quests, each with unique maps and challenges. Upgrade your units and structures to win battles. Get lost in an engrossing story line with plot twists and great characters.

Reference: http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/2010/deep-quest/index.html?afcode=af2dfb6ab328&src=bfg12y09engsdeeq&gclid=CPK2t9T42pACFShsGgodSzLZYA accessed April 2009

If you follow the link to the January 08 comments and read Revelation’s comment #9, Bovi’s comment #11 and The Belgian Dudes comment #15 they fill in most of what I would have liked to have said in today’s review. I was intending to write a full review for today’s game, but it’s Easter and I have family visiting. All three reviews by these guys say enough for me to take a break from my usual long review today. To be honest, this isn’t the type of game you can write a decent review for in a few hours. It definitely needs several hours of play (which I’ve not got time for, due to family visiting) for me to write a worthwhile review of this game….. Anyway, here’s my small contribution

This is a welcome change from the standard Arcade games and I would suggest if you have never played an RTS game before, try this as it’s a great introduction to the genre. It’s a very colorful and downright cute looking game which would make it an ideal choice for family play. Someone previously commented that to appreciate rts games you need to play online. This is not true as many games of this genre, including all those I mention below have good AI’s so you can get quite a challenge from them unless you’re a very experienced rts player. Every game can be different depending upon how you go about building your empire; and for me my outcomes when playing these sorts of games (StarCraft, American Conquest, LOTR, Cossacks, Commando’s and Command and Conquer, etc) have always been different. I’ve been playing RTS games for years starting with the original Civilization back in the early 90’s and I’ve never played them online (I much prefer FPS for that) though I’m not knocking online play as I’m sure pitting your wits against another human player in these sorts of games can be great fun and very satisfying (especially if you win) :lol: One of the most successful online computer games World of Warcraft is an rts game.

The games help menu is very helpful, with basic game play moves explained pictorially, for example building structures, creating & selecting units, basic movement, casting spells plus several other game play essentials. Each unit and structure for both forces are described as well as all the upgrades you can buy and finally the games interface is explained. There's several different types of units for each faction, for example the Abyssians have chracters called Sea Gnomes, Merboys, Sea Priestess's, Titan Turtles and sea scouts with upgrades such as Merboy Champion and High Priestess. Gordlon units include Sea Imps, Storm Warriors, Kraken, Spy Fish and Sea Warlocks, though none are upgradeable (being the opposing force. You can't play as the Gordlon. There's also several structures that can be built for the Abyssians , such as Gladius, hamlets, Coral forts (upgradeable to Coral Strongholds) and for the Gordlons, Sand Keeps, Bone tombs, Skull Outlooks and Enclaves. There are more, but you won't find an extensive building list and upgrades are only limited, but for a beginners rts this is great.

The options menu allows you to toggle on or off a few graphical features, so if you're finding the game runs a little sluggishly you can turn off such things as fog or animated bubbles. There's also a hints toggle for those who feel they may need some prompts during the game. A very useful feature for those who've never played this genre of game before. You'll also find the usual sound effects and music sliders within the options menu. If you want to change the games music you can find the appropriate music files via the following path (assuming you installed the game to its default location:

C:\Games\Deep_Quest_Build\BGMusic

You'll require an audio converter to change the music you wish to use from MP3 to ogg. You'll also need to change the name of the music to the names of the music you are replacing, for example Main Theme.ogg or In_GameMsic.ogg.

The game is fully mouse controlled.

Follow the link below for some Goggled images. For some reason my screen capture software wouldn't capture images from this game. You can find a small video of the game play by following the link I’ve used for the reference above. It’s only a tiny format and doesn’t show much. Neither the images or the video do justice to the game, but may help you to decide whether or not to download the game.



See Googled Images HERE


Conclusion:

Go get it folks, the help menu’s are well presented and cover everything you need to know about the game. Though if you are into those styles of game play that allow you to just open up and play for a few minutes at a time then this is probably not for you, though you can still do that with this sort of game but it would take you forever to progress ;)

There are loads of RTS games to be found in the bargain bins of games shops so if you find you like this sort of game play, you’ll find much better ones out there; (btw I’m not knocking it) For me it’s worth 7 out of 10 though I won’t be playing it much because I have a whole shelf full of RTS games that are more to my liking (Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth, Company of Heroes, all of the Total War series, Cossacks, Hard to be a God, American Conquest, World in Conflict, Journey to the Centre of the Earth and The Commandos series – I’ve just bought a couple of excellent rts style games via Steam and Good Old Games for little more than $3 or $4 each. You can get Sacred Gold for $4.20 and two of the Disciples II titles for a little more, from Steam and from GOG you can get Gorky 17 for $5.99 all of which are great bargains – the price for Sacred Gold goes up after Monday 13th. I’ve seen it selling for $20 elsewhere), I would highly recommend any of the titles I mention above if you like today’s style of game play. Most of the titles I mention above are bargain basement material now.


Thank you very much Merscom and the Game Giveaway team.



Reviews worth reading




Find Tricks and Tips HERE


If you have any problems with today's game please post details in the forums as well as in the comments section so that you have more chance of the problem being resolved at a later date.

Click HERE to go to forums