I loved this game.I hope you can bring in more adventure games.I wouldn't want any that involves fighting though.Also i love the point and click games too.

I finally finished that game, but on the Windows XP. I waiting for another games with Carol!
:)

@ 133,

Peggy,
I just re-read the comments about this game, so my reaction is probably not usefull anymore, but I think from your description that you used the walk-through for East side story.
There's no allotment in this game. And indeed the appartment and the kiosk are much the same in both games.

Good luck

Fotoflex #137
Kinda sounds like a cop-out doesn't it? If that's the case why isn't EVERYONE having the sound issue? :(
BK

Excellent game. It took several minutes to download and install (about 10-15). It worked perfectly from the start. I just finished it. Great story, tricky puzzles that required more patience than skill. Thank you for a great mind bending game!

I can't believe my eyes. 70% actually think this game was good? I wasted three hours of my time. Annoying music, freaky people, and no real storyline. What's with the huge boobs/cleavage lady? Is that really what kids should be exposed to? Same goes for the freak with the piercings and tattoos. GOTD really needs to take a closer look at these games before availing them to children. Major thumbs down. If I could get my time reimbursed, I'd feel a little less ripped (and the game was free!!) The descriptive talks about the lead character, Carol, possibly going mad. She'll be joining me!

Spent 8 hours downloading on broadband connection. When i tried to open the zipped folder it tells that there is not anything in there the folder is empty. What gives!!!!

Hoi,
They gave this reaction on my post #130;

Re: Hope‏
Van: Mikael Nyqvist (mikael.nyqvist@telia.com)
Verzonden: maandag 19 januari 2009 18:36:18
Aan: fotoflex@hotmail.com

Hi! Sorry, but I can't help with any sound issues. They're all generated by Game Givaway's install program. Regards, Mikael

Annie, go here for all your missing DLL files:

http://www.dll-files.com/dllindex/dll-files.shtml?msvbvm60

The download for msvbvm60 is free :)

JM

I downloaded and installed his promising game twice yesterday but was not able ti run it. Each time there was an error message, so I gracefully took everyting to the garbage can (I've got a Dual Core with Vista, 1 GB of Ram with the latest Intel video card).

Sad

I tried what the players had said earlier and right clicked the Hope Springs Eternal.exe file in the game directory (or the shortcut of it make on your desktop) and ran it as administrator and the game works fine.

Except on my machine (Vista SP1) no sound, but at least I can play the game.
I have the same problem! Please help us :(

PLEASE HELP!!! The help that was given for the probs with the GIF89.dll file.. for Hope Springs Eternal were right on! I got the game to work. Ok. now here is my problem. I get to Carols apt.. I collect the 4 items.. I go to the kiosk .. but I cant do anything else!!! I cheated and read the walk thru.. but.. it says to go to the allotment.. HOW?? am I a total airhead? I cant do anything on there. I cant move forward.. please help!! Ive gotten to the map over and over.. but all that is there is the kiosk and home. can someone that can move around thru this game please email me at ====deleted====== and PLEASE help me!!!
Thank you all so much!

What a bummer - this took so long to download that by the time it was finished the giveaway was over - this sucks - I love this type of game. Very disappointing.

I spent a lot of time with this game. I continually got the Gif89 error that many seemed to have received. I downloaded the fix and it didn't help, but on a whim i decided to download the demo version. It played just fine and when I tried the full version again, It worked! It fixed the error. I still have some sound problems but the game is now playable. Hope this helps you too.

On Vista I get no Audio and after some time I cannot save. The bottom of the screen is a bit higher than normal, whatever the resolution.
My XP plays the sound, but the bottom-end of the dialog notes is below the screen so I can't click the last question. And I'm stuck.
Posted these problems to the developers, maybe y'all can do the same?

WHITERABBIT!!!!!!

Downloaded. Installed. Activated.
Game doesn't run.
MSVBVM60.DLL not found.
Can you (or anybodyelse)help me?

Thanks!
Annie

Downloaded. But can't get the the licence in time. Tried twice and can not connect. ONly one minute left. AAAAAHHH

spent all night downloading it and using virtualy all my bandwidth (im on limited usage) only to find out that it is not compatable with my version of vista!!!!!!!!

I know all the sound files extracted.

One more tidbit that might be helpful. I'm on Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit.

I did read a few comments of Vista users who DID have sound, so it may be that 64 bit is the issue.

Whirerabbit - thanks, I would never have guessed that 'dxdiag' command. I'm still having trouble trying to understand the results from that program, and it'll probably take a long time before I figure it all out, but at least I've got somewhere to start now. Thanks.

I also was having problems installing this program. I tried all of white rabbits suggestions to no avail. BK, (comment number 87) had the correct answer. It worked like a charm.. Now just gotta figure out this intrigueing game. Kudos to you!!

Thank you so much for all your time and effort put into this wonderful site. I also couldn't seem to install this program for all the problems above.. Everyone... #87 BK Was able to provide clear-cut instructions to solve all our problems on vista. It works like a charm. Thanks so much to white rabbit. And Our new friend BK..

I'm fairly new to this site; it's absolutely wonderful!!

Wanted to know if I should "reinstall using recommended settings" as that is what it is sitting there asking me to do. (The Program Compatibility Assistant)

Awaiting your quick replies!

HP Widescreen Laptop with Vista SP1

Wondering if those with sound problems got this error and chose YES or NO. I'm willing to try the OPPOSITE to see if that resolves the sound problem or not...

I downloaded this game and after i extracted the files it goes through all the process of doing that then it doesn't show up that the files are extracted. It just has the read me and setup files and it won't load or anything. I haven't had this problem before from any games on here. I have enough space, ram, memory, right video card, but still nothing!!! It looked and sounded like a great game!!

Hello ,
I am running vista. I don' have any sound. Is Windvd required to run th is game? So many people have reported this. But why no solution??
Thanks

Thank you Whiterabbit,glad I did find you!I am searching for game now.

Hi Lynda W, comment #113 you're lucky to find me up (I've just puchased Defense Grid: The Awakening, and have been facinated by it for the last hour or so, which is why i'm still here, lol..

Anyway, you'll probably find the game in C:\games\Hope Springs Eternal
There's no shortcuts in the start menu or the desktop and you wont find it in the add and remove programs list. but it is there. Once you've found the folder, open it up and click on the executable (not the icon that has the picture, but the one that looks like a minature window. That will open the game for you. To create a desktop shortcut you can right click on the file and select send to then from the drop down menu select shortcut (desktop).

I hope this helps. If you don't find it where I've indicated try searching for the file using windows search facility via the start menu.

With respect to the audio, try asking for help from the developer via her web site:

http://www.mdna-games.com/Hope/


To LisaFla, comment #114 I really do think that some of the ones I've posted are much better than this game. Try Beneath a Steel Sky, Out of Order, the White chamber and Ben Jordan first, though all of then imo are worth downloading. Remember some of the games are just as big in size as today's giveaway, but using a download manager such as the one that Jem suggests (comment #108) :lol:


Nice one Elvina. :D

I rebooted and tried again.........it worked this time.

This took hours to download and after I unzipped the files I couldn't get activation. It said it couldn't connect, to try again later. I've tried all afternoon with the same results........any suggestions, other than delete everything and forget it?

I liked your site last year. I could download games and they actually worked. Yesterday and today the files downloaded fine, but I got the message "could not connect" when trying to get the key. You have serious problems. Hot Springs Eternal looked to be a good game, but I will never know.

Stephen you are, as always, a gem. Unfortunately I just give up and will instead d/l one of your suggested alternative games.

Please help me! I have downloaded 3 times(firefox) and shows activation successful and goes thru installation process but nothing happens afterward.I can not find it under Programs or under add or delete programs.I am currently downloading w/ internet explorer!

w.r.t cooments 60, 64 (Mine), 105 ( Amy), any solution for amy's and my problem? Setup runs, freezes and exits without installing or activation, says "the key cannot be decrypted. Not much time left, this download took sometime, any help would be appreciated in fixing this.

After I successfully downloaded the game,it installed itself into my folder for East side story which was odd, as I had created a folder specifically for Hope springs eternal)
That was ok as I simply moved the data to the proper area later.
I had to wait a while for the activation(I DID read the valuable tips from our own W.Rabbit...good thing I did!)
It was interesting the way the activation was actually the GGOTD web page this time, which might have confused a few people!
Anyhow, I am DELIGHTED, and wanted to say, many many htanks to both Merscom and GGOTD!(also thanks to MDNA games, the creators; superb and (IMHO) re playable games.)
:)

I was so excited to get this game Love the match 3 types but have so many of them. Myst was one of my favorite games ever and this seemed somewhat similar
My wonderful XP Media PC crashed after the XP SP3 update and I ended up having to put the horrible free "upgrade" to Vista on it to get it to run at all. I hate Vista.
I can start the game and go to four rooms and pick stuff up but that is as far as I can go. With no sound or hints or anything it is pretty boring and seems hopeless to get anywhere.
Not complaining as I know it is free, just disappointed.
If anyone can help I would appreciate it.
Thanks

It's fantastic to see an adventure game on the site! Point-and-clicks are my favorite and they seem to fly under the radar too often. I'm installing the game now. Thanks GGAOTD!

For all those still trying to download and not getting past "connecting", try downloading Orbit Downloader (free software) from http://www.orbitdownloader.com/ - I did this - easy to install etc, and it immediately downloaded this game - took about 10 - 15 minutes on high speed broadband.

You can also choose to include software called "grabit" at the same time, which gives an equally good alternative dowmloading option. This program also allows you to download You Tube vidoes, although it seems to help if you have Real Player as well.

Good luck

I love these types of games and always seem to miss them, but glad I was able to get this one, though no sound as well. I'm running Vista 64 as well, and had the same install problems too, until I used "Run as Administrator" and made sure to uncheck the box that changes resolution.

Has anyone come up with an audio solution yet, unless I missed it?

Thanks GGOTD for a mystery game, hope to see more of them in the future!

If you have trouble at all running this game and haven’t read any of the comments on this page, then firstly read through the comments as me and others have posted some fixes.

Other things that you could try to do are update your graphics and sound drivers. If you don’t know how to do this firstly find out that your sound and graphics cards are by going into the DX diagnostics panel which can be reached by going to the start menu and clicking on run. Type in dxdiag then click on run; this brings the diagnostics window up. Click on the display and both the sound tabs to find either what your graphics and sound cards are called, or the name of the driver. Both or at least the diver name will be written on these tabs. If you have the name of your graphics card (probably NVIDIA or ATI, then Google the name to get to their home page, where you’ll find links for updating your drivers. If you only have the name of the drivers, you can still see whether they are NVIDIA or ATI because the suffix to the file name will be either NV (for NVIDIA) and ATI for yeah you’ve guessed it ….. You can go to the respective home pages for these as well and just download the files they have for your system. If you don’t have either of these two manufacturers (at least 80 to 90% will have) then just Google the driver name.

========================================================================================

To Giovanni, comment # 84, try some of the other point & click adventures that I’ve posted links to. In my opinion, some of these are much better than todays game giveaway. You can find the links at comment #94.

========================================================================================

Kathryn, comment #86, what sort of errors are you running into??????

========================================================================================

Those with the gif89.dll problem. If my fixes didn’t work, try Buckleysmoms fix (actually, try hers first), see comment #87 for the fix. :lol:

========================================================================================

LisaFla, comment #89, no don’t move the gf89.dll file. There’s already one in your Windows System 32 folder.

========================================================================================

As Catnip comment #90 mentions, when you are activating this game it can take several minutes or longer due to the number of community members downloading and trying to activate this game. Please be patient and leave it until it says successfully activated otherwise you may mess up the activation and run into problems running the game.

========================================================================================

To debbie97420 does it name the missing mp3 file? If so, just copy any mp3 file and rename it to the one that’s missing then place it in the Area’s folder that you’ll find in the installed games folder. If there are any of the music tracks that you like you can copy them from here and place them in your music folder, (perhaps create a folder for them)

========================================================================================

Anna comment #93, the activation can take quite some time to complete so try again and go get a drink of something and put your feet up for awhile :lol:

========================================================================================

Kosmikgirl comment #97 check out the following thread. There’s a fix for your problem that’s directly related to this game.

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=171800

The above relates to the following error message:

an error message Msdxm6.ocx or one of its dependencies not correctly registered.

========================================================================================

Kat comment #100, go to where you installed the game (probably C:games\hope springs eternal) and delete it manually. If you’re worried about registry entries these can also be deleted easily by going into the registry console. Though I highly recommend backing up your registry first by creating a restore point. If you’re not sure about messing with the registry it’s best left alone, but creating a restore point should give you some leeway. Go to the start menu and click on run. Type in regedit and click okay. This brings up the registry editor. Firstly click on the first hive then click on Edit, from the drop down menu click on find or find next. Type in the name of the game and then click on find nect. If it finds anything related to the game you can delete it by right clicking on it and selecting delete. When you’ve deleted the first entry, to proceed through the registry press F3. continue to delete until you get the message end of registry.

Downloaded fast but would not activate. It said the key could not be decrypted than it freezes. Not a good one for me.

#77 again ... I downloaded it again, increased my virtual page size to 1.5 GB (I had done that already from suggestion #48 to no avail by the way), and waited for about 20 minutes to try to activate it. Failed twice, then eventually it did activate on the third try. Then, of course I had to replace the gif89.dll in the windows\system32 folder (thanks White Rabbit). So, now the game launches. Can't figure out what to do ... but that's another story.

Thanks and good luck to others.

I already downloaded the game but i have some problems at the start :(

DISPLAY PROBLEM - when I try to start the game, I get a message box with this error description: Error changing display resolution. Component Gif89.dll or one of its dependencies not correctly registered. File missing or invalid.

I have an desktp computer and unning Vista Home Premium. Other games and aplications works fine.

Please help me! :(

Does not work at all on Windows ME or Vista.

A big thanks to Merscom and GGAOTD for a new offering today - I did enjoy playing East Side Story. Thank you Stephen (WR) for the great review and the link for the game-tips. The dsl download itself took about 20 minutes and the only problem was when the software key wrapper/activation attempt froze my system - twice, but the third time rebooting did the trick - about another 10 minutes. I able to extract the file - about another 5 minutes, create a desktop shortcut and was able to begin playing the game - yea! The pictures and sound are working just fine and I have had no errors so far ... thanks !!!

I am using Vista, downloaded the game and it says there are files missing... I cannot get this thing off my computer now. It won't let me delete it! I have tried everything I can think off, but it won't delete. HELP!!! I've never had this problem with the games here, but if I can't get rid of this one, I won't download any more. I would appreciate any help I can get.
Thanks,
Kat

Shitty Giveaway Installer. Consumes several hundreds of megabytes RAM! Please think of those who don´t have hundreds of gigabytes of RAM installed!!! My pagefile increases to 3GB.

To those having issues activating... (like #73, 77, 93)...

PLEASE read my post @ #48 above!

i tried to anticipate these types of activation errors (Normally Vista machines have sufficient RAM) on older XP machines!

Please Help!!!! I'm getting an error message Msdxm6.ocx or one of its dependencies not correctly registered. A file is missing or corrupt.

I just love this game!
I'm from the town of Norrkoping in Sweden (where most of the game photos is taken), and have been walking on several of the game paths in real life. It's nice to see home again (I'm living in England now).
Thanx a lot for a nice game! :-)
As a game, maybe not the best, but for a free, Sunday entertainment, I couldn't ask for more.

I did as someone suggested and right clicked on the "Hope Springs Eternal" file and chose "Run as Administrator" and the game started (I have Vista 64 OS) - the only problem is there is no sound.

So now the game runs but without sound.

Any thoughts?

Thanks