Did not initially work...XP Pro...but after updating my video drivers it worked immediately...Radeon in this case.

I downloaded this, but when it opened the background showed, but the game was about 2 inches in size in the upper left hand corner.
I played several games with it like that, but after trying to correct it with changing the screen pixles, I just deleted it. It was fun while it lasted.

I'm not even close to being a computer guru/tech so what I tried was VERY limited. Thanks anyway.


Moderator comment:

The playing field is zoomable. It seems like you are on the most negative zoom. Try using your mouse wheel to zoom it. I hope it works for you.

W.R.

Correction to post above: Running windows 7 ultimate 64 bit evaluation edition build 7100. Problem opening INTERNET explorer, not windows explorer.

I have windows 7 ultimate evaluation edition build 7100 and this game worked fine and was fun. However, after playing, I had a problem opening windows explorer. I came to find out that my display settings somehow got changed to "extend these displays". I had to change it back to "show desktop only on 1" to get internet explorer to work again.

Loaded in smoothly on xp. thanks

This is by far the worst game to come out of gamegiveaway.com.
I would expect this type of game if I was running windows 5. It's not the least bit challenging and takes 0 skill to play.
I'm very disapointed.

Edit by moderator: Hi apple ament, sorry you find this little game disappointing.

Doesn't work on my Vista Home Premium 32. First required a DEP exception, which I gave it, but no luck. The problem report is an AppCrash and the Fault Module comes up as StackHash, which means that Windows couldn't identify the module, so has dumped the StackHash to a report file which someone would have to sift through to try and interpret the error. I have DX 10 and am using a standard resolution size. My guess is it's balorhot's fix in my case - because my card is a geforce - but I don't have time to check into that right now.

Thanks balorhot and WhiteRabbit. Will see if it's related to OpenGL. Seem to be having trouble, anyway, and may have to reinstall my nvidia drivers. Oh, well. Sleepy time. Gotta get to work early tomorrow. Thanks, GGOTD. Will try to get it working.

Ok Windows 7 Ulimate 32 bit. Makes a shortcut. Fun gamw with a bit
of the physics play & strategy. Sometimes it pays to just let the ball run and can finish a puzzle just from pinball action.
One tip if first play is to keep aware of the specific level so when
end for awhile just pop onto that level to resume. Game doesn't seem
to save specific last finished one. Otherwise might have to bang thru a few levels to find where left off.
Thanks GOTD.

It does work on vista I just played for a half hour...kind of redundant but would be enjoyable for children

Hi Mr Snoozles,

:idea: Have you tried the other suggestions mentioned above such as trying the Open GL settings via the options menu, changing the color mode to 32 bit (default setting is 16 bit). Your computer may not have Open GL installed; you can download the necessary files via a link I’ve provided in comment #5 (just under the specifications list).

Other options:

• Try playing in windowed mode.
• Try changing your resolution via the control panel (right click, select options, then choose the settings tab).
• Check out Fizzgigs comment above.
• Check out Jody’s post below


To Violet, :lol:

I agree, Phantasia 2 was a great game; combining bubble shooting at its best with an arkanoid twist to it. I haven't played it in a while, but I seem to remember there were at least three modes of play? Troll was also a very unusual and excellent Arkanoid (despite it getting a lot of bad comments), and which I still play occasionally (though I've not since my last format a few months ago. Both are free standing games so I’ve managed to keep them working through several formats and hard drive upgrades since they were given away. In fact I think I’ll reinstall Troll, and Phantasia 2 (well copy them over from one of my external back up discs. Thanks for reminding me about them. :lol:

great to see 300AD back on GGOTD!...

"Trick Ball" installed & ran perfectly on XP MCE...

another unique game from the developer (my favorite still being "Phantasia 2", & fav from their dev partner "Rake In Grass" being "Troll")...

agree w/Whiterabbit: "a lot of re-playability"...i enjoy the mix-and-match style of the game...

thank you 300AD & GGOTD!

Hi, for XP users that get the blank black screen on start up:
do the Ctrl = Alt + Delete or whatever you use to open Task Manager and then under Applications, right click T2D and select minimize. Then click on the T2D tab on your task bar (it is what I have in IE7 on the bottom of my window but whatever you have for your browser should have a way of displaying all windows that you have open). When you reactivate the game window you have an options tab, I unchecked Full screen, changed to Bpp 32 and hit apply changes and then the game worked fine. I had tried the other option for Graphic Driver but then my mouse was going rogue. Hope this helps.

"Hardware failed to switch to the specified mode." This is the error I received running under my OS: Vista SP1. Updated Direct X as suggested above. Same error. Help please. -Snnozles

Thank You once again for delivering the "Treasure Of Persia" to us.
As a totally disabled adult. It feels so good to be given something fun that you want when on "disability." I've watched my Mother play it also. My heart is smiling.
The new game looks good to! Thank You. Your gifts may mean more than You thought they would!

password sorted at last. sorry for the delay folks.....

to Senior Citizen, check out Fizzgig's comment #21, it may help to solve your problem. Also check my comment at #5 and GMMans comment, both of which link to Microsofts site (for upgrading your DX graphics).

To pokemon,

Try resetting your modem and router (if you have one), also clear out your internet cache and finally, if that doesn't work, check your security settings. You may have inadvertently disallowed the giveaway site to open.

I'll try and write up a fault finding post over in the forums soon. Hopefully it'll include all the usual faults that we find when trying to run a game.

The game play very fine on my Windows Home Premium 64 bits.

I had this same problem last week and didn't get it rectified in time to get the game I wanted: Here's what's happening and maybe someone can help me...

I download, unzip and click on the Setup file. I get a message that Giveaway of the Day "Failed to Connect. Please try again later."

Any idea how I can get past this?

It works with Windows 7 as well !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This game is really different yet original then most games out there that I see that involves shooting a ball into objects. It seems like you have to be creative with your ball shooting (pool like skills) in order to solve/pass a level. A similar game to this would be the Sims Bumper Blast. Played the first few levels and its already looking like its going to be a winner. Installed the program fine on Windows 7 Home Premium. I do not have a power system so heres what I am running it on:

Intel Atom 230 1.6ghz
1GB Ram
160GB HDD
Intel 945G Integrated Graphics.

Works like a charm........

Installs & runs OK on Win 7 x64 with ATI Catalyst v9.7. Temporarily resets screen to 640x480 & takes up the whole screen. Your original screen resolution is re-established when the game ends. On my 2 monitor system only the main monitor was affected by this game, except for going dark for about a second.

In case the game doesn't work, you can try to edit a file common/preferences/prefs.cs and change a line
$pref::Video::displayDevice = "OpenGL";
to
$pref::Video::displayDevice = "D3D";
It could help.

This funny little game works quite well under Win7Ultimate 64-bit, I didn't need to install any driver at all.

Of course it's not one of those blockbuster titles they advertise nowadays, but it's perfect for a short pause during work - gets you involved much more than Solitary or good old Minfield do.

Keep up the good work

Raph

Installed fine under Vista 64. Fun, though the physics are a little suspect.

Installed on my Windows2000 computer and when I tried to play the game my entire screen became black. Shut it down, tried again to play. Black screen. After 5 tries I don't understand what I did wrong. Was really looking forward to trying this game! Any help would be appreciated.

Downloaded and installed fine on my XP sp3 machine. The game plays well with no problems. :)

My problem is that it does get boring. All you do is hit colored balls around the playing area trying to get them to strike another ball of the same color or into the checkered area. Not much brain work there. There are some objects in your way so there is a little challenge to it but not enough. I supposed if you wanted a few minutes of mindless diversion this might do it but it is just to slow for me. :(

All righty. This game is a bit different than the usual. Instead of just moving around pieces, this one adds physics to the mix. The game plays pretty well on my no-name graphics (actually, Intel very bad graphics). Loads in a good time, snappy changing screens, etc. The overall gameplay is average. I found it to be unintuitive. It's not something that you can pick up and understand as fast as some other games. It's sort of clumsy to point-click-hold-release. It would be better if I could just throw the player piece. The level designs are average. The tiles look like some Win95 game design. Sound effects suck, pretty badly. It's just visually unpleasing.

Overall, I can't really recommend this game. The graphics need to be ramped up, sound effects less annoying, and controls improved. It would also be nice to see it keeping track of which levels I played, instead of just the high scored. 6/10

If you are having trouble launching this game:
1. Update your DirectX through this link: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2da43d38-db71-4c1b-bc6a-9b6652cd92a3&displaylang=en . It'll automatically install the right files for your Windows version.
2. Update your graphics driver for OpenGL updates. Get it directly from your graphic chipset manufacturer (most commonly nVidia, ATI (AMD), and Intel).
It's not really Windows's or the developer's fault. Though IMO it is Microsoft's fault for not including every DirectX update in Microsoft Updates.

Despite the comments here about Vista, it worked for me with no trouble at all! Maybe because I have DirectX 9.0c, 10 AND 11 but I just installed and clicked. I do have it set to windowed mode in high quality.

I think it's neat. I had one tutorial level that the ball kept accelerating and bouncing AFTER I completed the level.

Diane

Installed and ran just fine on my Win7 pro. (P4, 1GB, Radeon HD2400 pro) I didn't even have to tweak any settings. Interesting game, could be a little diversion now and then.

Unfortunately I messed up my login info to log into the admin console so cannot moderateany comments at the moment.

I've asked for a new password, but the system is so slow it may take all day to get a new password, so, if you've any problems please post in the discussion forums. I've posted a duplicate of my review there.

It's unlikely there will be any more moderation until I get the new password. Sorry about that.

WR

Massive strobing of the video (Radeon Sapphire 9200 Atlantis) under XP-Pro using ATI Driver from August 2005. Uninstalled!

I finally got this working on Windows 7 RC after futzing with the display resolution. For those having problems, are you using a widescreen display? I think the issue is a resolution problem, not a Vista/7 problem (though computers with Vista/7 are more likely to have widescreen setups).

Here's roughly what I did to make this game work:

0. I ran the program, which caused my laptop display to go black; I could here sounds of the game responding to my mouse, but no visuals.
1. I have a dual monitor setup, so I moved my cursor to the other desktop so I could get to my display setting (in this case by right-clicking on the desktop). If you don't have a second display, try hitting ESC or ALT-Tab to switch out of the game, or CTL+ALT+DEL to bring up the taskbar; this should minimize the game so you can get to the control panel to change the display resolution.
2. I restored the resolution back to the normal values for my system. If you have a widescreen and a panel fit type option, you might want to try changing from "full screen" to "center".
3. When I go back to the game, it now runs in a small box in the middle surrounded by black, and it won't let me out of the box. I click on Options in the game and see a "Fullscreen" box that is, oddly, unchecked. I check it, then uncheck it, then click Apply.
4. The game now runs in windowed mode. I can now change my display settings to however I like them and the game works fine.
5. When playing, the game will capture your pointer and keep it in the game window. Press ESC to free your pointer.

Well sreenshots looking nice, but seems there is no way to get this game running. Weather on My XP machine nor on my Vista laptop.

I'm running Vista x64. Installed with no problems at all and runs great!

Really, really fun!

Thanks 300ad!

Downloaded and installed just fine on XP SP3. I started playing and then got hooked! I was at level 30 before I knew it. This is a very fun game and I'll get plenty of playtime on it. Thanks GGAOTD. 2 Thumbs up.

Hi BF Fan

I spent three solid years playing nothing but Battlefield 2 and was on the BF forums every day. loved it loads, but it seemed the community was dying, plus there was a big misunderstanding with one of the admins on one of the sites I was also admining on (not Hayabusa), so I just stopped going. I've actually just reinstalled BF2 recently due to the 1.5 patch being released. I'd previously bought the booster packs but wasn't able to access my EA account so wasn't able to redownlad them. I noticed they were now included in the patch for free so though I'd get back into the game. To be honest I've still not found a game that equals it, though Enemy Territory is close. I'm still reinstalliong loads of my favorite maps and was over at the Mercenaries site yesterday for the first time in a long time. I didn't realise HB had released a new version of his mod.

I'm also considering making a few BF maps myself. I had loads of ideas that could make some decent maps, though I doubt I'd ever come up to the quality of 'The Darks' maps. Anyway, I'm looking forwards to jumping back into the game. :)

By the way, whats your BF forum name?

regards

WR

Well how about that a decent game. Hey Stephen, what happened to you over at BF?

I couldn't get it to run under windows 7 either but after downloading this driver

http://drivers.softpedia.com/progDownload/NVIDIA-OpenGL-30-beta-driver-17789-Vista32-Download-66657.html

It works fine.
Probably only for nvidia geforce owners.

works fine on Vista64.

Fun little Physics puzzle. Not World of Goo quality but a nice way to kill time.

I couldn't get it working under Win7 64-bit. Since there's been complaints about it not working on Vista and XP, it's possible that either it's not 64-bit compliant or there's something it wants in the graphics card that it's not finding.

Thanks for this game!
For me such plain pool-, pinball-, bowling-, minigolf-games are fun and more "challenging" than most of the hundreds of HOGs with its far-fetched and mostly brainless background stories.
It's another plus factor for me that I may chose in which order I'll play the levels.
It runs perfectly under Vista HP 32.
A thick thumbs up :)
graylox

it works on XP, but it's tough, not much action in this game.
It's more boring

Works perfectly in Windows 7, bit boring though!

Doesn't work on Windows 7
This is getting ridiculous on so many progs and games not even working on VISTA after how many (edited) years ?

edited by moderator.

Please refrain from swearing Phil. As you can see Terry (the next comment) has got it working on Win 7, so maybe you need to change the settings within the game or on your computer? (Just a suggestion)

Thanks for the Vista confirmation codesaway.

If neither of the fixes work that I mention above, try updating your DirectX files. You can do so HERE

If you are running XP choose DX9.0c, Vista use DX10 and for Win 7 use DX11.

I have the exact same problem as poster #2 -- it won't run on my XP machine. When it attemps to run, it crashes and creates an error window. Oh well, thanks anyway. Guess I'll just keep playing Treasure of Persia. :)

I had no problem installing this on my Vista laptop. I played a few levels, worked fine, but it's too similar to pool and not enough to arkanoid (which I love), so I installed it. Had no problem uninstalling either.

If you like virtual pool, you'll love this game. If you like any of the games listed, definitely a fun game to try out.

Sorry for the delay in posting. I had a minor crisis last night. The computer died on me. Thankfully I had spare hardware to repair the problem (burnt out power supply). Anyway, better late than never

.

Installation:

This was originally given away about two months into the start of the game giveaway project (Feb 1st 2007) and received a positive 65% out of 119 votes. You can read all the previous comments HERE.
The download size is 5.15Mb and when installed expands to 7.93Mb. A shortcut to both the desktop and the start menu is installed as well as a uninstaller to the program section of the Start menu.

Possible Problems:

Generally it received a lot of complaints mainly due to problems with getting the game to work. It didn't appear to work on Vista. (I've not had time to confirm this on my Vista machine due to the above problem I had last night. I'll check this later; and no one previouly confirmed that it worked on Vista). Fixes included changing the screen resolution and selecting Open GL instead of D3D, (or maybe the other way around) You can find the appropriate buttons to change the video mode in the options menu as well as the ability to change the screen mode and color quality (i.e. 16 or 32 bit), the latter appears to be set on the lowest color quality which most computers today should easily cope with the higher 32 bit rate. It works in both settings for me. You will definitely have Direct X installed, but you may need to install a free copy of OpenGL if the game wont work (see below in specifications for download link).

If neither of the fixes work that I mention above, try updating your DirectX files. You can do so HERE

If you are running XP choose DX9.0c, Vista use DX10 and for Win 7 use DX11.

Introduction:

The following is what the distributor/developer says on their website about the game:

Did you enjoy pool, bowling, pinball and arkanoid? Play Trick Ball and have it all!

You strike the balls and marbles of all colors with your player's disk to match them and to remove them from the board! Different levels have different physics - different tiles and backgrounds move the balls and marbles in special ways - make them speed up, slow down, explode.

Each action you do costs you the points - such as move of your player's disk - or brings you the bonus points - such as destroying the ball or marble.

Reference accessed 6th November 2009 HERE



The Game

The aim of this game is to remove all the colored marbles from the playing arena either by pushing two of the same colored marbles together, or to push single marbles out of the playing arena through a black and white checked grid, or by breaking through the wall of bricks that surround the playing arena; though some marbles are fixed so can only be eliminated by making another marble of the same color collide with it. The marble used to move the colored marbles looks different and can be made to move at speed or slower by adjusting the power rating. This can be seen when you keep the left mouse button depressed. (White with an arrow). To hit a marble with the players ‘cue’ ball move the mouse cursor in the direction you wish the ball to move. There are several types of tiles that can affect the outcome of your shot:


Tiles & Holes:

Turbo……………….…....Kicks the ball faster (speed up)
Plasma……………….…..Glues the ball on the spot (slow down)
Bomb Wall………………Explodes when hit hard
Strong bomb……………..Explodes when hit even harder (lol)
Moving Wall…………….Moves when hit by the cue ball or marbles
Random Accelerator…….Kicks the marble in random directions
Black hole……………….Holds and destroys any marble
One color hole…………...Holds and destroys all marbles of the same color
Mysterious hole………….Holds nd destroys only one marble then disappears



Controls:

Mouse ………………...…Moves the cursor
Left Mouse Button……….Controls the power of the Strike
Esc……………………….Main Menu



The shooter bounces off some of the tiles on the side, others have to broken. There’s arrows that direct either the balls or the shooter in the direction they point and can trap the shooter if you don’t eliminate balls in the correct order.


A secondary aim of this game is to score points. You can score points by kicking marbles from the playing arena or eliminating a marble by hitting it with another marble of the same color. Your score can be decreased by every strike you make, so it is important to try and remove the colored marbles from the playing arena in as few strikes as possible. You can also lose points if the cue ball flies off the playing arena. You can upload your scores to an online table if you wish or just keep the scores to your computer.

Apart from accessing the main menu via the escape key the game is controlled fully by the mouse. The first eight levels are tutorial levels and the rest which number more than 50 levels can be played in any order you wish. You can find the rules and other useful information via the help button found in the main menu. There you'll find details of the different bricks you will find in game as well as how to play the game and how to score points. You can also see more in game images via the post I’ve made in the game forums. If you get any problems running this game after today I'd post the problem in that thread, which you can find HERE. The game is free standing which means you can play it via a flash drive (memory stick).
Images:


You can see all the images on one page HERE or as a slide show HERE




Minimum requirements:
PC Windows
1GHz, 128MB RAM
OpenGL



You can download OpenGL HERE


Conclusion:

Overall this is an excellent 'time waster'. It’s one of those games you can pick up and play for just a few moments or play till you drop. It’s easy to play, with only a few simple rules to follow and (IMO) has quite a lot of re-playability. I like the ability to select any of the levels you have. The graphics are okay. The only thing I think this game is lacking is a levels editor.

I think it’s worth a reasonable 7 out of 10 for an all round game for the family.

Other information:


Alternative Games for free:

The game is related to pool and very loosely related to breakout games so if you’re looking for these types of games you can find at least 10 excellent free arkanoids that includes Nuclear Ball (A-Ball) and Twixoid (Geometry Ball) as well as Gem Ball (which was made by the same developer as Nuclear Ball) at Gametop The names in Brackets are the names Gametop have changed the original names to for licensing purposes. You can also find a free pool game . Rather than link to each game I’ve just posted the home page. You can easily find the games you want HERE

you'll also find related games within the giveaway forums either via the free games synopsis or arkanoid threads HERE and HERE

Please be aware that during installation of most of the games from Gametop you need to uncheck the boxes for the installation of toolbars and changing your home page. It’s a simple matter. Once installed you get the full version game with no adverts. Your browser will open to Gametop when the game is closed down, but once you close the window; that’s it.

Changing In game Music:

You can change the in game music by replacing the ogg file (called Music1) which is found within the installed games folder. By default it should be installed along the following path in XP (hopefully I'll have a copy of Win 7 eventually):


C:\Program files\Trick Ball\game\client\music

you'll find several audio converters in the giveaway freeware library HERE; these will enable you to convert any MP3's you would like to exchange for the present in game music. IMO, music that you like can enhance the gaming experience. :lol:

This is sooper.
A must download.

I love THIS game!
(Level 12 has objects that behave like pinball machine bumpers).

Doesn't work on my XP. Reinstall didn't fix the problem. Just gives me a blank screen on start of game and wants to send an error message. Am I doing something wrong?