For most games here, if I do try them, they usually don't last long. They either don't hold my interest, or I just don't like them, and uninstall them. But this game I absolutely love. This is the kind of challenging puzzle-solving game that I like. Bring on more like this.
Thanks

I do not care for the game Lumen and I cannot uninstall it. Please help. I went to where it is installed and it will not delete. I cannot delete the shortcut on the desktop either. Help, help, help.

Every time I try to run the setup it gives me an error that it failed to connect. I tried turning off my firewall but that had no effect. I am running XP service pack 2.

Good one! :)

Great concept, but the first time I played it, I noticed the timer moves like it's suffering a sugar rush! I'm usually pretty good at logic/puzzle games but the timer's frenetic pace had me spending so much time watching the clock I couldn't actually work on the level...

Lack of a LEGIT way to deal with the hyperactive timer was a disappointment, but the real aggravation came to light when I closed the game... it had tweaked my 1280x800 desktop down to 800x600 (which wasn't so bad), but failed to go back to my settings after I'd shut the game down. Needless to say, I had to reset the resolution of my desktop and put the icons back where they'd been before I launched the game... Haven't tried it a second time to see if that was a fluke or not.

A level creator would be a nice trinket to add to future versions but the playability of levels that're already part of the game should be a main concern. (An option to play w/o a timer, or different levels of difficulty might be worth consideration)

great game , just they dont give you enough time to figure
out the harder puzzles..

Well... The Game has some Problems now. It tells me that it detectet some Problemes and have to be closed.
Well if I run it in compatibility mode (Win98) ist will work again - bust just till the next time I left it. Next start I have to go back to normal and after that again i got to change it to normal... That´s not nice and everytime i switch the Savegames will be deleted.

Downloaded and installed on Vista Ultimate 32 bit, No problems at all.
This game is very well done from graphics to music to gameplay! If you've ever enjoyed playing the old dos game "Oxyd Magnum" you'll feel right at home testing your logic skills with "Lumen". Love it! Thanks for the Free Download Merscom, llc!

So far the game has peeked my interest and challenged me. It's a keeper!

Something is wrong with the audio in this game. When I start it, the sound volume is turned ALL THE WAY up, so loud that it even causes feedback in my speakers (hope it hasn't ruined them). Trying to adjust the volume in the Options doesn't seem to affect the volume as it still stays loud - at all the way down, sound is muted but its either mute or ALL THE WAY up.

So sad... because this game looks interesting and I very much did want to play it.

Sorry I have to give thumbs down because of the sound bug....

Not for me. choppy graphics and sluggish play and just not my thing. although if one were geometry under pressure, it might be a welcome time waster. thanks anyway, giveaway, I always appreciate the opportunity to try out different games.. and as it says.. you can't beat the price.

Just right click on the installed game and select delete. That should do the trick.

Regards

Whiterabbit

First game I felt the urge to download in quite a while... and I can only say:
HIRE SOME DECENT PROGRAMMERS WHO KNOW HOW TO WORK INSIDE A BROWSER WINDOW, MERSCOM!!!!!
GAWD how I loathe full screen games with NO way to window 'em. The last thing I want is to be barred from multi-tasking.
In this case, I get the always exciting pleasure of learning too late that my volume is set too high by being blasted out of my chair, and a strangely useless black vertical offset (about 3") on the left side that shoved the game to the right, partly off the blasted monitor.
Guess which way I voted?
THUMBS DOWN

Hi Jonathan,

Try the following.

First, make sure that hardware acceleration is set correctly. If your hardware acceleration is set too low, you will disable required graphic functions (DirectDraw Acceleration). To check your setting, follow this procedure:

* Right click on the Windows desktop (make sure you're not on an application icon)
* Select "Properties" from the popup menu (at the bottom)
* Click the "Settings" tab at the far right of the Display Properties window
* Click on "Advanced"
* Click on "Troubleshoot"
* Make sure that the hardware acceleration cursor is set to full.
* If you have additional tabs for your graphics card's settings (such as OpenGL or Direct3D), check those tabs to make sure that Anti-Aliasing and Anisotropic Filtering are set to "Application Preference" or "Let the application decide"



Your display adapter must support DirectDraw Acceleration (not just DirectDraw) and it's advisable to have the latest version of DirectX to run this game. Not all computers come with graphics cards that support the graphics functions being used by Virtual Villagers and Fish Tycoon for Windows (and many other games). To check that you have the proper graphic support and to verify that your adapter is set and operating properly, follow this procedure:

* Click on the Start Menu, and select "Run"
* Type "dxdiag" in the Run window and click OK (or press Enter)
* Check near the bottom of the window on that first screen (the System tab) to make sure that you have the required version of DirectX. The current version at this time is 9.0c, and can be obtained easily by using the Windows Update function
* Next, select the Display tab in the DirectX Diagnostic Tool window that opens.
* Check that the function "DirectDraw Acceleration" is enabled ("Direct3D" and "APG" are not required for Virtual Villagers or Fish Tycoon, but they may also be supported by your system). Also check the "Notes" window near the bottom of that window to make sure that it says "No problems found." You may also, if desired, test DirectDraw using the button provided on that screen.
* While you're on that screen, check your display adapter's driver date. If it's very old, you should probably consider updating your driver. Most manufacturers supply driver updates through their support structure
* Restart your computer, if instructed to do so.

Your display adapter must support those functions, and they must be enabled, for the games to work on your computer.

Finally, check that your computer's color bit depth is set appropriately. Depending on the size of your display adapter's Video Memory (VRAM), setting a high screen resolution can lower the color bit depth to a setting that isn't compatible with Fish Tycoon or Virtual Villagers. You can check your display settings on the "Display" tab of dxdiag (see the above procedure, and look for "Current Display Mode:"). Your color bit depth should be the highest supported by your computer. If in doubt, you should follow this procedure

* Close open applications (you may have to restart your computer at the end of this procedure) so that you can see your Windows desktop
* Right click on the Windows desktop (make sure you're not on an application icon)
* Select "Properties" from the popup menu (at the bottom)
* Click the "Settings" tab at the far right of the Display Properties window
* Look at the "Colors" setting in the lower left portion of the window
* You should set it to the highest setting supported on your computer.
* Click "Apply"
* If asked to restart your computer, Click OK
* Try running the game again

If it still won't run, try lowering your display resolution and set the highest color bit depth again. You can again verify the settings in dxdiag.

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

Hi Twentycats, try adjusting your screen resolution and or updating your Open GL and DX9 drivers. Just Google for both drivers. They are free, so if you go to a site that's asking for money go somewhere else. I'd post links, but I've go things I need to do.

Regards

Whiterabbit

Excellent little game !! Downloaded and installed perfectly. It's a keeper ;-) Thank you !!

Downloaded and installed without problems, played a few levels - like this game ... HOWEVER ... the screen keeps "flickering" and there is a "line of static" at the bottom of the screen . Any ideas as to why this is happening ? Thank you !

On trying to run this, I get "Could not open display. Error code = 0xc8660160" Anyone know what I should do here?

Poor graphics make the game difficult to play.

Download and install worked perfectly on Windows XP. My kids (8 and 7 year olds)love this game! It's wonderful for younger mental stimulation and prediction. Haven't gotten to the upper levels yet, but am definitely looking forward to them. Thank you for an outstanding game!

(This is unrelated to today's giveaway, but) #42, MontanaGrandmom, I have been using McAfee Security Center since my ISP started giving it to us subscribers as a freebie. It is a big resource hog, IMO, and I am about to uninstall it from yet another computer of mine. I don't usually have trouble with software downloads and installations, but it has a bad habit of updating/scanning when not scheduled to do so, and frequently when playing a game, or doing something online.

well, made it to Egypt-3, knocked out all the boxes but don't know where I need to have the final lazer beam pointing to master the level. What is the spinning thing above the tower in the upper right of the compound? I've looked for a walk through just to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing to succeed at this level and can't find one. I've attempted this level more than 10 times to get this far!!

I’m not usually into cheats for games because I can’t see the point WhiteRabbit on 28August2008 offered the following link, even though in general, he didn't believe "in cheating because it makes the game too easy. However after trying to get to the end of the first day three times now, I think the Freeze time trainer that caulbox comment #23 mentions may be a good idea.

you can download it from the following address:

http://www.gamershell.com/download_30068.shtml "

thank you Steven and good luck people. make it work for you so you can have fun.


you activate the freeze.exe before starting your problem program, and it has a hotkey to stop the game's time.

sorry for the split comment but i needed to check what the link was and if it were still there....


Smoke_w
just another Computer junkie

perhaps the Freeze Time adjustment recommended for Golden Prague could help? i downloaded it during that day's giveaway....

"Success…I think! I’ve played a few levels but have to agree that the short amount of time does make it tricky. I’ll have to tackle this when I have time to actually pay attention to the game."

Glad that it up and running for you! Now you can write the walkthrough, lol!

Suki

"i dont like installing games that dont have an un-installer."

dont = don't

Then you will miss out...

Suki

After playing several more levels I would like to add to my previous comment.

I agree with DarkGriffin and Rockster, a no timer option would be wonderful. A level editor is not important to me but having the puzzle remain on screen after you complete it would be nice so you can review what you did. Also, being able to return to previous levels would be great to relearn what you may have forgotten or just to replay a fun puzzle.

Overall it is a fun game but it just needs some improvements. :)

i dont like installing games that dont have an un-installer.

and McAfee sucks,,so does norton antivirus/security,,,,,but the "norton ghost" rocks

i like this game site,,,,,,

Success...I think! I've played a few levels but have to agree that the short amount of time does make it tricky. I'll have to tackle this when I have time to actually pay attention to the game.

Thanks, Suki and Whiterabbit. I've just spent over an hour on live chat with McAfee. My Site Advisor was actually ALREADY disabled and the nasty pop up still came up and froze my machine. I finally uninstalled Site Advisor, on McAfee advice-claiming my version is corrupt! Go figure, I just updated my McAfee a few days ago. That coincided with this issue. I'm about to reboot and try my download again. I'll let you know.

Whabbit

It's not an idea...it's fact!

They don't come up with "Oh you shouldn't do that" it just turns it off, I have WOT as well...

Suki

This is a nice change from the match-3 games that are abundant. As stated by others,, you have to go to the installed folder where the Lumen.exe file is located, and drag a shortcut to your desktop so you can get to it easily.

I did not have any problems running this game on my Vista Home Premium, but I did change the compatibility setting to XP SP2 by right clicking the desktop icon, choosing "properties", then picking the "compatibility" tab and then choosing to run the program in compatibility mode for Windows XP. The program started fine in full screen mode on my Vista laptop and I played it for a few levels. The first few levels are not as challenging, but get you used to how to align the mirrors and charge your beam, etc. Go through the tutorial when you first run the game and it explains pretty well what you have to do.

I only ran a few levels to make sure that the program was running properly on my laptop and it does. I would like to see a no-time option so you could fool with the levels at your own pace, but I would give it a 7 out of 10 as a nice change of pace puzzle to occupy some dead time and keep the brain active.

Thanks DOTD!

Hi Montana Grandmom, If Suki's idea doesn't work just uninstall McAfee site advisor and then re-install it, though I'd go for Web of Trust (WOT) over Mc Afee anyday.

Could be a great game, except for the timer on each puzzle, and the inability to select previously played levels(to try to get better scores, or just cause a particular level was fun).

The lazer already heats up rather fast, there is NO NEED for a timer to add "suspense" to the game. It would be much better without the timer actually, because then the designers would be free to make some hard puzzles without having to set a rediculus amount of time on the timer.

At the very least, an option to turn it off would be appreciated.

I love lazer puzzle type games, but with the timer constantly forcing me to restart puzzles because I didn't see things fast enough, this one is more frusterating then fun.

On a positive side, I did like the fact you have to be careful not to overheat the lazer, and the puzzle layouts were, for the most part, quite fun to solve. The boxes, while not making much logical sense, did provide an interesting motivation to find not only a working solution to getting to the exit, but also all the possible routes the lazer could take through the levels. This was a welcome addition to the puzzles, because it made them feel a lot more like mazes to explore instead of simply another twisted route to the exit like most lazer puzzles tend to feel like.

However, thanks to the timer, it has become too frusterating for a puzzle lover like me to complete. I am stuck around the third world somewhere, and have closed it out of frustration, probably never to return. I highly recommend to the developer to scrap the timer entirely, as it really feels more like a last minuite thought then a solid part of the otherwise puzzle and logic based game.

A level editor, even a simple point and click one, would also be a welcome addition and help give a break to the constant level solving. It would be fun to be able to play the game and then apply the logic I've learned to making my own lazer level layouts in user levels.

To summarize, improvements to the game to make it much more fun:

-Remove the timer, or at least let people play without it if the want to by having an option to turn it off.

-Include an editor in the game, so users can make their own levels and trade level files around.

-Improve the "start level" screen to allow selecting or looking over old levels, to allow the players to do fun levels again, or even try solving that level where they didn't fully understand how they solved it last time.

As it currently is, I would probably play a demo and then get frustrated, refusing to buy it because of the timer and the fact that I would be unable to do any other previous levels without starting from scratch again, meaning that if I am stuck on a stage, I have no way to practice or relearn what previous stages were supposed to train/teach me.

# 21 VAMPIRO

"The only thing I did not like was that it Install automatic to Game
Folder on C: (No choice to pick the directory) and as I usually
Install all my games on another Hard Drive as to not slow Windows
down it was a bit bad."

I had no problem installing to a different drive, but then I'm not running Vista...

# 34 MONTANAGRANDMOM

"I would dearly love to download this game but since I updated my McAfee I get a McAfee Site Advisor window that pops up and says this site has spyware, etc and if I check the box that says ‘add to approved sites’, nothing happens. There is no way to make the window go away. It freezes my whole computer and I have ctr>alt>del to close anything. Does anyone know how to disable McAfee Site Advisor?"

I am using Firefox 3, so I don't know if yours is the same...but just above my taskbar, McAfeeSiteAdvisor sits...there is an arrow pointing down...click on it and disable SiteAdvisor!

In IE(I still run IE 6)it is in the upper left hand corner of my browser...could also be in upper right...click on the arrow and disable it!



Suki

Installed and plays fine on Windows 7. Which is good, looks like this one will be a keeper.

Love Anidem's vision of the game, even if it's not THIS game. Sounds something like The Mummy movie series, with Brendan Fraser. ;)

At last, a Merscom game that isn't trash! I have to admit that this isn't a bad game. It isn't a great game either but it is playable. :)
(and a rare "new" game at that!)

I enjoy puzzle games so I had to download this one. It reminds me a little of the game Robbox given away a while back, using mirrors to reflect a lazer to get it to a certain point. It is just the challenge I need to "get away". ;) Thank You! :lol:

I would dearly love to download this game but since I updated my McAfee I get a McAfee Site Advisor window that pops up and says this site has spyware, etc and if I check the box that says 'add to approved sites', nothing happens. There is no way to make the window go away. It freezes my whole computer and I have ctr>alt>del to close anything. Does anyone know how to disable McAfee Site Advisor?

Set up and ran Fine on Vista64, but only held my attention for about 3 levels because it was not what I was expecting.

I was Hoping/Expecting this to be a physics based game. Mirrors with a full range of motion that you try to align by eye and then take a shot with the laser.(Laser? Really? why not just go with your theme and start with a mirror channeling light from the sun?)

I was envisioning this;

Phestos; the kings architect, Falls down the light shaft of a tomb and needs to find his way out.

Each level has a set up of mirrors in a dim tomb. As Phestos, you have to run from mirror to mirror and try to align them to trigger a exit switch to let you leave to the next level. Missed beam of light would potentially aggravate sleeping Mummies, Scarab Beetles and Asp's. Which would love to have you as a snack.

The light beam would not be always on, but triggered by flipping the first mirror from an on/Off position, facing or back towards the light channel. You could even use the beam to temporally frighten off the awoken enemies and burn some ants for bonus points.

John, I do find a good game here about twice a year, so it pays to visit this site.

Stephen, do you really think ggod has a good reputation? I think it used to, but since last year when they took there "vacation" it has went downhill. They stopped the daily giveaways and about 50% of the weekend games (if they decide to have a weekend game) are at best mediocre. I do check every weekend to see if they have a nugget, but frankly your tidbits are far better than what they put out. I salute you for your reviews,advice, and tabs. I hope this day you are doing well. Thank you.

I more than meet the requirements, but got 'cannot open diplay' Running XP

#4 would do well to remember that not all of us want the adds and other annoyances that can come with the free sites. I'm not always interested in every game that GGOTD puts out but then again everyone has different tastes. I've gotten some pretty sweet games from you guys and have no complaints. Keep it up please. Also #4 should read your blogs as I believe you have already explained why the games giveaways are limited to weekends. Thank you and have a delightful day. =)

My kind of game! No problems, no issues. Great one! Thanks guys!

@20 (TK) - I agree that there is no windowed mode but that's not a show-stopper for me. As for a "pause" - it does have this feature! Just hit the Escape key! It brings up a menu for Continue, Options and Main Menu. It says "Paused".

Installed & ran fine on XP pro SP3. Got to level 3 or 4 & then got stuck.

#14 thanks for the tip re: keywords, but didn't work for me. I can't have the accelerator on, it makes the screen too choppy. It's ok tho, I just don't type in any of the words from the bottom & all is fine.

Thanks GGOTD and WR for your review.
Sadie

Since this is another game with no start menu shortcuts I thought I would add this for anyone interested:

I put all my new game shortcuts in my original "Games" folder on the Programs menu by creating the shortcut in the folder the game is in and then moving it to:
"C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Games"
after it is there I rename it by removing the " - shortcut" at end of the name.
Nice, neat, pretty folder;)

@21 (Vampiro) - I don't know what you mean about no option to change the install location - just click "Browse"! I never let games go to the "recommended" or "default" locations. I rarely let anything go that way! I want to keep that control myself.

As for the game. I like it! It's fun. The variety of blocks keeps it a challenge. To bad there's no level editor so we can create our own. It's a variation of a maze but it think it's a neat game.

It works fine on my Vista Ultimate 32 bit. I don't mind creating my own shortcut. That's trivial.

RE: 22 comment (Jim). What do you expect? How are game designers expected to design graphics on screens setup for portrait mode and how many games you buy wold you expect this type of support? Quit moaning! Setup your PC for a conventional setup like the majority!

Wouldn't even run for me. It gave me an error saying that my video card didn't support 800x600@60Hz. Of course it does. Either Lumen can't handle my dual-display setup, or it didn't like that my monitor was rotated to portrait mode. Either way, it's finicky.

Something to think about if your monitor setup is at all unusual.

No problem on my Vista and a nice little game -just tested 3 levels
before posting this.
The only thing I did not like was that it Install automatic to Game
Folder on C: (No choice to pick the directory) and as I usually
Install all my games on another Hard Drive as to not slow Windows
down it was a bit bad.
But else nothing much to complain about -a good time waster- good
graphic for it's small size.
Thank you for another game release.

~V~