i got this game for 99 cent. downloaded it and everytime i try to install it it ask for a pass code. did anyone buy it and run into the sane problem?


.............................Moderator comment........................

I presume you missed the giveaway? not got that problem. I'd contact the developer about it. Please let me know if you don't get any joy.

Just about the dumbest game I ever saw.
Difficult to work out what to do on some levels and others just cut anywhere and it's done.
Weird.
And spelling their own web site url wrong? Says it all.


...........................Moderator comment.....................


Most would disagree with you on that.

I tried everything and at this point I'm giving up and it looked and sounded like something I'd love in a game. So if I try again tomorrow then I'm out of luck right?

...........................Moderator Comment,................................

With literally only a few mins left yes, you are.....

For all those who have had the same installation problem as I've had perhaps I can solve the problem for you very easily. I am running Vista HP on my notebook and the game seemed to install fine until I went to the C drive Games folder and the was no Mechanism3 folder. I did a search and it kept telling me that the file was there but I couldn't find the folder so I restarted with a scan disk first as well as a disk cleanup to make sure I had enough room.No luck and then I saw tat there was a new download so I tried that and had the same result and then I looked inside the Games folder itself and there it was. The only executable file in the Games folder. Hope this fixes your problem.

I'd like to make one last comment to clarify things and support my previous #23 and #34 comments. The spying is done by mochibot.com, well known third party analytics provider, which reports to developers who use their service. The extent of the spying is similar to a hit counter on a webpage, where your IP address (your PC's unique address on the net) is logged, but there is also a unique ID generated for your PC which is logged, and I don't know what else is transferred or logged. This by itself is not dangerous, it's just a violation and outrage as has already been stated by myself and others here, with no place in downloaded game and especially without any notice, opt-out or stated privacy policy.

This game "phones home" to mochibot EVERY time it starts, who aggregate user data for their own purposes as well as for the developer, and with the guid and cookies and such they can identify you across many websites on the net. To understand the implications of this kind of thing I highly recommend you read the full series of articles at http://online.wsj.com/public/page/what-they-know-digital-privacy.html

Please note that blocking core.mochibot.com with the HOSTS file is my solution (see http://accs-net.com/hosts/what_is_hosts.html ), but be aware that this may cause trouble for certain flash games and videos you may want to see in the future, similar to the way that blocking "doubleclick" domains (one of the most common ad hosts) will prevent many streaming videos from loading. See the HOSTS file page at http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm for detailed info and a great ready to use spy blocking file.

Using a firewall to block outgoing traffic is another option that's been mentioned, but I must also point out that Sandboxie (which is free, bulletproof, extremely light on resources and thus highly recommended) can selectively block programs from accessing the net just like a firewall, and it can load custom HOSTS file for each sandbox you configure, thus allowing many options for blocking or allowing or containing programs. It's easy to use and set up too, and has the best free English tech support you could hope for, at http://sandboxie.com (it's the most powerful software I own!).

this game looks like a brain game, installed ok however i cannot find where it is installed, where did it go!

............................Moderator Comment....................

Hi Kerry, the game installs to C:\Games by default. It will be easy to spot becasue it's not installed to a folder, just an executable, so it will be near the end of the folders when you open up games. If you are still having difficulty, either use the search function to find where it is, or reinstall it. Once you've found it you'll need to create a shortcut.

re the $10 a day "more games" catch. GOTD should also remove the google ad to the right of the initial description on the download page as it often displays a large download now type ad and especially in the other programs GOTD site it's too close to the GOTD download link.

I have reviewed a number of offers and then recommended them to those I knew would benefit, only to here back from them that 7 days later they have been charged $39.99 from the incorrect link they followed that mentioned "free games, download now" mistaking this for GOTD download link.

This sort of mistake by what could be many users will damage GOTD reputation.

Bottomline--GOTD says 100% spyware/ad free. --This game isn't regardless of those that have posted work-a-rounds or links to sandboxes.
Don't have the time to fix/work a round what GOTD should have been aware of and as a result not offered this game.

One note on all the Hosts file changes recommended. I got them all done (the YouTube was helpful) but I could not save in that folder. I had to save it elsewhere and then move it back over. Then put the read-only flag back on. Even as Admin, it said I didn't have authority to save the file there.

Can't you get the mac version??
PLEASE

I'm pretty much a flat out idiot when it comes to anything on the computer. & I got it to install and I even know wbere it is to play it again which I will most definitely. I can't even begin to describe it to people to tell them this is definitely a different animal. tyty
Now about the Russians spyware, it freaked me for a moment but if they want to follow me around (I was in H.S. when Nixion was president
...first term...lol)then go for it. I prefer this to their former tactics. TYTY for bringing these games to our attention. Hope you get to feeling better...Happy Holidays all

Wow--very cool and interesting game. Really uses the brain--I like that. The music is a little loud, but I like the ambiance. No instructions, but it makes you think more. I'm really glad I checked the give-away today. Might have to see what other games this company produces. This was a nice break from the cheap driving or "match 3 gems" type of games. Keep stuff like this coming--very creative!

Can you figure out what lines and shapes to cut threw to make the timepiece get to the goal?

Major Spelling Error
do not use threw in the first sentence to describe this game

threw as in I threw the ball to you.

Did they mean I went through the tunnel to get here?

Definition of THROUGH
1
a (1) —used as a function word to indicate movement into at one side or point and out at another and especially the opposite side of (2) : by way of (3) —used as a function word to indicate passage from one end or boundary to another (4) : without stopping for : past
from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/through?show=0&t=1292797754

To the moderator: "You can play the game for free 24/7 via loads of flash game sites. I don’t see how they can be scammers if they have been distributing the game for free for so long. I don’t understand how you get to the $10 a day charge???"
---------
I didn't declare Wheemplay scammers I said "they seem like scammers" because the More Games button takes you to their web directory (http://apps.wheemplay.com/) where 3 out of the 5 games listed with "Instant download BUY NOW $0.99!" buttons lead to order pages with "Recurring Payment Terms" mouseover of the terms reveals "First charge: $0.99 Then, $10.00 every day."

Just to be clear: I am not talking about their flash games. I'm talking 3 of the 5 games listed through their "More Games" button within Mechanism 3. BTW 3 of those $10.00 a day games are featured on this page.

I value this site and the service you provide to users. You allow us to discover and try software we may never have noticed.

Thank you and Happy Holidays!


........................Moderator Comment.......................

sorry Thwip, I meant to get back to you earlier but got sidetracked. I checked and did find the $10 a day charge. i've never seen that before. Definitely seems rather fishy. Who'd pay so much for a simple flash game?

If you wish to block the Russian spyware site, proceeed as follows. The Hosts file is found in the C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc folder. Right click on the Hosts file and select Properties. Uncheck the Read Only box. Click Apply and close the Properties window. Double click on the Hosts file and when prompted select Notepad to open the file. Insert this line 127.0.0.1 core.mochibot.com but be sure to leave one line blank at the top under the 127.0.0.1 localhost entry. Click File Save. Now most importantly right click on the Hosts file again and from Properties check the Read Only box and click Apply. Close open windows. Your computer will now block any attempt to communicate with the Russian site!


............................Moderator comment.............................

Thanks Chaz

Kind of wondering why with all the seemingly knowledgeable talk about the game doing spyware-like functions, there has been no direct Moderator Comments about this. The only comment that even acknowledges it is "Thanks for the information". Hardly reassuring, and from my experience with GGOTD, not typical.

So is the game safe to download or not? Can we get a real, definitive answer before the install time expires?


...............................Moderator Comment..........................

It just so happens I’m not very well at the moment. I won’t go into details, but I really shouldn't be doing this at all, but seeing as there is only one other moderator that perhaps moderates a few times a day if I’m not doing it I felt that I should continue; besides IMO this is one of the best games we’ve had in some time and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I'm a gamer, not a tekkie (which is why I moderate the game giveaway site and post about games in the forums); you’re just as capable as me with respect to researching such things. If the game interests you, you should go check out all the information that other community members above have posted. There are comments that imply that the threat is minimal and probably nothing to worry about. Also the game giveaway thoroughly tests all games that are given away here. My security software didn’t pick anything up, so I’m happy to keep the game. There’s a fix as well if you take the time to read all the comments above. You could download the game into a sandbox; if you don’t have one there’s a free lite version of Buffer Zone and if you check the recent comments over in the forums, the developers of Buffer zone are giving away the Pro version (though I’m not sure whether the offer has expired yet; methinks it expires tomorrow). With a sandbox you could get the game and work through the fix that the member above mentions. Once it’s fixed it’s a simple process to move the game outside of the buffer zone, where it becomes a fully functioning real game as opposed to a image.

At the moment I'm more interested in spending the last few hours I can with my family as they are going on a skiing holiday over the Xmas period (leaving at 5.30am in the morning), which leaves me on my own over Xmas. (Though I have bought in some help to make sure I eat decently each day while they are away). That and the fact that I’m unwell stops me from doing any more than I have to, otherwise I would probably have obliged you.

..............................Moderator Comment......................


Thanks for your input Chaz; as with Damon above, I would have done the same thing for this giveaway before it was fixed, but wouldn't normally because it contravenes giveaway rules; unfortunately I had to delete the information you gave because it shows you how to save all giveaways without having to worry about activation. (I won't go into details as it may give members ideas). Sorry

Stephen, I don't know why some people have commented on the lack of a full-screen setting for this game - my window had the full-screen button available and active between the minimize and close buttons, and it works just fine to enlarge it to my desktop size, 1280x800 on this laptop!

This game is diabolical and cunning - easy to play, addictive, and fiendishly clever - and I'm only on the Easy level! The physics are great, and having a Retry button makes it a great game - I wish more games had that! Thumbs up from me.


............................Moderator Comment........................

Ha Ha, talk about staring you in the face. You're absolutely right. I didn't even twig, lol :-; I think because i was playing the browser game for some of last night to gather info for the review I just didn't notice the buttons at the top right hand corner, (excuse, lol).

some suggestions and comments:

I am a wizened computer geek but know relatively little about www coding...

I downloaded and installed the game without problem on my old XP system. When I fired up the game, my firewall, Zone Alarm informed me that the game was asking permission to access the internet.

I denied it permission -- permanently.

Why would it do so???

Before installation, I tried the online demo version recommended by Stephen in comment #1 @ onlineflashgames.org. The demo include a brief ad before the game began.

Then I googled core.mochibot.com mentioned by nomocha in comment 23 which led to me learn about the world of MochiAds.

http://www.mochimedia.com/
http://www.mochimedia.com/games/

So perhaps that cookie is not as nefarious as it seems; just part of the ad network that is enabling flash paying game developers to develop their product.

BUT IT DOESN'T BELONG WITHOUT WARNING IN THIS GOTD PRODUCT. This "freeware" should not be accessing and transmitting info to the internet!

And here's a link to a YouTube video on how to remove MochiAds (fwiw)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0ZtsbnPWd4


As far as installaton location and desktop icons in Windows XP:

If you don't want a folder installed to the root directory, just go to your directory tree, Cut Games Folder and Paste into Program Files Directory.

Then open Games Directory, right mouse click on Mechanism3, Send To: Desktop (create shortcut) -- couldn't be easier ;-)


...................................Moderator comment.............................

Thanks for the information.

Take care buying a game via the more games button in-game. Many of these games have a recurring charge - $10 per day! I kinda like Mechanism 3 but it's off my system as these guys seem like scammers.


.............................moderator comment..............................


You can play the game for free 24/7 via loads of flash game sites. I don't see how they can be scammers if they have been distributing the game for free for so long. I don't understand how you get to the $10 a day charge????

I can sum up Give Away of the Day in one word: FRUSTRATION

Firstly, Ive left a few comments on the nongame part of this site to no avail. Yesterday whomever moderates the comments over fell asleep or something. The last comment showed moderated only 8 hours into the giveaway and the last 16 hours not a single comment appeared.

Secondly, I left a comment there earlier today, and obviouslly the moderator didn't like my plea for help and didn't bother with my comment.

Thirdly, Ive been using Give Away since the beginning of the year with absolutely no problem whatsoever except for the crash of 1-5 November. For the past three days I havent been able to activate anything.

Conclusion is that the one or two running this operation have either given up or are just doing this for a big laugh.


..................................Moderators Comment.............................................


I occassionally get a failed to activate message; when that happens I do one of three things, (well four if you count rebooting my computer) and have always (apart from once when I was getting a bed page message) managed to fix the problem. Usually all it takes is to reboot my modem and/or router; if that fails to fix it I clear out my internet cache (sometimes a cookie can become corrupted and stop the activation process from working - don't ask me how, but i've cleared my internet cache on several occassions and that has also cured the problem). I do hope one of the above fixes cures your problem. If not there is either an underlying problem that has developed on your system or maybe your connection isn't working properly.

In reference to the full-screen / windowed mode question that has received comments here.

I prefer Windowed Mode. I often am playing a game and doing something else at the same time. The only full-screens I normally use are for some breakout and HOGs that are just too small in windowed and where you don't really have a choice or the choice won't stay selected.

The ability to swap among various open applications is far superior in windowed mode than in full-screen mode.

Also, with a wide-screen monitor, some games don't recognize that fact and end up distorting the image if I use full-screen mode.

To each his own - that's why most games have the option!

..........................Moderator comment............................

Alt Tab does just fine for me if I want to swap between a full screen game and other open programs.

Someone mentioned that there needed to be a notification of the games. You can always subscribe to the email like I do. It's at the top right hand side of the page.

Wow! Bizarre and challenging! Thumbs way up!

Was strongly considering this one until the first issues mentioned & then fixed. But real stopper is second issue of Russians hooking into system with secret tracking. Enough already. Too busy to try and set up some kind of sandbox just for games, tho excellent idea. Thanks for that vital info.
Just got over a separate Gametop free game problem where I was 'cheating' a game by quick exit to desktop to avoid losing a life. After doing so ok several times, the last time corrupted something because nest am PC start saw a hijacked homepage and mouse cursor gone flooy. Custom cursor chosen in game. Quick rollback of PC system & game uninstall. This one tho is more scary because I just know it would come to bite me in the end. Time for a dedicated game PC & a brokerage account PC? Thanks for the info!

"Can you figure out what lines and shapes to cut threw to make the timepiece get to the goal?"

It's "through" not "threw". Is it too much to ask for proofreading?

@30 Ellieblue: Luckly I read that said it didn't load a file, so I made a folder for it to load into, as I am like you, I hate loose parts of games/apps just willynilly with no container. Feels kinda messy!

This is a really fun and addicting game. Love the physics etc.
If that's your kind of thing, then go ahead a download it. It was dead simple to download and it started without a hitch and runs fine. (Vista 32 bit SP1-Home Premium)

The graphics are simple, almost kind of HR Giger; stark greys and blacks and kind of a gray green. I love the background ambient music nice touch. Game play is VERY easy to grasp, and after only a few false starts you'll start getting the idea. But beware, that ease of play does not translate in to simple easy puzzles! Some are diabolical in creation!

As said in an earlier post, I would liked to be able to play this in full screen or at least resize the window.

See you all at the next Mechanism 3 Addicts support meeting.


.............................Moderator comment......................

ditto on the Full Screen. I don't like playing in windowed mode. I wouldn't mind if there was a big black border around the game, if only it would go full screen. However, that said you can get it to look almost full screen by right clicking on the games exe or shortcut and selecting properties. Open the compatibility tab and select 640 x 480 screen resolution, then apply. The following is what it looks like on a 25" monitor:

The installation is just a single File dumped in the C:/Games folder.

I have had a few other programs run like this, but not in a few years. Most notably Mousepad Maphack for Diablo 2. You just create a shortcut to the file created in C:/games (No sub-folder, it is just a single file) and it runs.

This is a neat little game. It "installed" fine and since I knew it was a single file (from the comments here), I put it in a folder of "little guys" in my "1sies" area (1sies means only one game for that developer) and "little guys" are games with at most 2 files. It runs fine. I don't know about the spyware involved but if it's looking while I'm running, it's not seeing much and I rarely use IE.

However, I have to make a comment about the "shout" by Mike Vaughan concerning desktop shortcuts. NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!

I do not like desktop icons. I have all removed if possible (leaving only the recycle bin) and then setting the flag to not display desktop icons. I play all my games and do all my other activities using the Windows. With Vista "pinning", the most often used ones are shown as soon as I bring up the start menu and the others are neatly organized in shortcut folders.

Just let me put the shortcuts where I want them (even creating them my self is no big deal so acceptable). Don't give me extra overhead!

fully agree with 'nomocha'.........my nod32 also blocks a crapy content entering into my appdata/roaming section of windows!but thanx anyway goatd.......n i just love ur work in goatd 'whiterabbit aka Stephen'(god bless)! :-)

re: #23 moderator question: "Thanks for the info nomocha; i’m sure the giveaway team would have been oblivious to the spyware. what did you use to detect it?"

I'm in the habit tracking the behaviour of software and lately in the habit of monitoring it's network activity directly, whether I trust it or not.

A handy tool to read all network activity is the freeware SmartSniff from the highly esteemed NirSoft.net website. Using SmartSniff it was easy to see what the program was doing, and having run it inside the amazing and irreplacable Sandboxie it was easy to get an isolated list of files downloaded and the locations thereof.

I've created an image that depicts SmartSniff in action and which explains the process of interpreting the results that led to my conclusion. Please see: http://www.picdepict.com/images/68117876064210303397.gif

As for the program, the spying and tracking is similar to that done by websites but such things should not be happening with a downloaded game, especially when it's done secretly.

..........................moderator comment.........................

Thank you, much appreciated. :) I agree fully; i'm sure the giveaway team knew nothing about this though.

Very interesting game and can be addictive, even at normal selling prices the game is the cheapest I have ever seen

A shortcut to the desktop would be a good idea to include as once it is installed there is no physical link to get it started and if you are in a hurry and install it only the next time you start the computer you could forget you had it, which would be a great pity as it is a brillient game and well worth playing.

PLEASE AUTOMATICALLY INCLUDE A SHORTCUT TO THE DESKTOP

Thankyou


...........................Moderator comment........................................

Unfortunately most game giveaways apart from developers like Playrix, create no shortcuts or uninstallers. I don't know whether the wrapper used by the game giveaway team has anything to do with it or whether something else has been tampered with. One way around this is to install the demo of most games (no demo for this particular title), then install the giveaway version over the demo. so long as the shortcut created by the demo doesn't point to a demo exe then it will work. not sure about the uninstaller though. I've done this several times as I usually download the demo's to play so that I can write up a review for the giveaway team.

regards

W.R.

Nice game. Easy installation after reading the readme.txt file. No installation required. It just runs from the exe file. I like that.

After reading that the install problem was fixed and looking at a few seconds of the Easy walkthrough video, I downloaded. Win 7, 64 which gave the common popup to reinstall correctly, which I did. made my own shortcut and played several levels.
I will like this game a lot, didn't realize there were others before it, until I get to the harder levels which will make me scream.
I love the Icebreaker series on Nitrome so know I will like this. more basic graphics, the Nitrome is little Vikings instead of spheres, but still challenging.
Thanks GGAOTD! more free fun!

What an excellent game. It will take a little while to get to the end I think. I really like the graphics. Installation was simple. Most Gaotd games wind up in folders in C:\Games. I really hate loose files sitting in the games folder as it is really annoying trying to uninstall a particular game and identify all of its component files.

Certainly the stated 99 cent price is right for this game, but I'll pass. Interesting looking, but it has that Flash game feel, as if it were embedded on somebody's Web page as a free extra. When I clicked the walkthrough button it attempted to contact a website which could not load--whether it is a bad link or my Kaspersky blocked it, I do not know. Does not really install, just lands as an exe file in a 'games' folder you need to link to yourself.

No installation under Windows Vista Home Premium 32. Appears the first screen installation pointing to directory C:/games, that suddenly disappears with no extracting in this directory, even running the Setup file as Administrator. After that appears the GOTD screen.

on Win 7 64 unpacking ok, but at first start total crash, i had to restore from saving point, not funny :-(

I've just downloaded with Firefox and installed it with no problems. I've only played a couple of levels so far but it looks like a really interesting game.

funny and different design,with a lot challenging modes.love it.really well thought and the music is not annoying either.this kind of puzzle cutting games is mind easing and great to relax playing for me.good game to keep.try it out.

This game is just 9.5 MB small, completely portable and with really good game play. I have not seen this combination on the market for a couple of years.

Congratulations to the GOTD team (and of course to the developers and distributors) for bringing this little gem to us.

It's a clever Flash game that contains spying/tracking code (bad Wheemplay!), it's been compiled into an EXE in the usual manner and it saves it's progress and other things in the "AppData\Roaming\Macromedia\Flash Player\#SharedObjects" folder as usual.

However, every time it runs it loads core.swf (a user tracking component) from core.mochibot.com, which also saves a "mochiSWF.swf" into your IE cache and saves cookies on your PC, all of which makes it spyware in my view. I strongly suggest adding "core.mochibot.com" to your hosts blocking because it seems that lots of flash content uses this spying and reporting service without warning or user consent. Block core.mochibot.com and poke the spy in the eye!

I see the download has been fixed now but as for the original installation and activation all you had to do was open any process explorer to see where it was running from.


..........................Moderator Comment.................

Thanks for the info nomocha; i'm sure the giveaway team would have been oblivious to the spyware. what did you use to detect it?

i download the thing, get a zip file with readme.txt and setup.exe, then i directly run the setup.exe in the windows explorer without extracting it, and then i find the mechanism3.exe under C:/Games

..............................Moderator Comment......................


Thanks for your input Damon; I did the same thing for this giveaway before it was fixed, but wouldn't normally becasue it contravenes giveaway rules; unfortunately I had to delete the information because it shows you how to save all giveaways without having to worry about the activation. (I won't go into details as it may give members ideas). Sorry

After authorization it extracts to one game file Mechanism3.exe.
Just find it and move to any folder. When you start a game and move the mouse over the node "Other games" it tries to connect to game website.


............................Moderator comment.......................

Thanks for the info; I tend to avoid going near any button that says 'other games'. I find it annoying that such links are included in a game, especially ones that I buy, but we can't really complain at this time because we are getting the game free.

I still think this game is well worth the effort to download. iIhope such links don't put you off getting the game.

Edit:

I've just hovered my mouse over the More Games button and all that happens is an animation of electrical energy appears. No browser opens unless you click on the button.

when I activate I get the message " the key cannot be decrypted"...
Is this a problem with the download or the activation??


............................Moderator comment.......................

See my comment above @ Majid Pasha comment #17

When I activate I get the message "the key cannot be decrypted"??
Is this an error with the download or the activation......


............................Moderator comment.......................

See my comment above @ Majid Pasha comment #17

Hello

What's the problem ?
When I click on setup.exe it says the key cannot be decrypted .
My OS is win7 x86 bit & I'm using firefox as my default browser .
connection to internet works properly .
So What's the problem ?
Please send to answer to may mail .


Best Regards


.............................Moderator Comment......................

Not sure whether you downloaded pre or post the initial problems. Please re download and try again. Delete the cookie from your internet cache (Go to Control Panel and select Network & Sharing Center, look to the bottom left of the window and you'll see a link to Internet Options. click on that. You should be able to clear out the internet cookies from this window, (or selectively clear the game giveaway cookies) if you don't want to delete other cookies). If that doesn't work try rebooting your modem and/or internet cache.

:idea:

From previous comments it seems that it may be a firefox problem. try changing to IE temporarily if none of the above work. :lol:

There's no shortcut for the game, so it must be run from c:\games\mechanism3.exe

Delete the exe and folder to uninstall.