Games load, then quit, ...

WE have a problem with getting games to run. Very psooibly could be that we accidentaly ran Coldstone(X) on an OS9.1 system. Now, the finder thinks all of the dtat files, etc. are Coldstone(X) files.

Then again, maybe that is not the problem.

System: iMac w OS9.1

Symptom: Coldstone runs, but games don't past loader. Loader indicates "loadiing" but then exits back to Coldstone.

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Hmm. I had similar problems when I ran the OSX editor in OSX. Sometimes, when launching a game, it merely enters the dock, bounces once, then quits. I assumed this was an intermittent bug in the editor, as it only does it about 25% of the time, if not less, and is not really a major annoyance. Anway, to the fix.

With Coldstone, there should have been two applications included, the Coldstone app and the Coldstone(OSX) app. Both will run under OS 9.1, but the Classic (Coldstone) version will run far better than the Carbon (OSX) version. This is because the application used to compile the editor, RealBasic, has a few niggly issues with OSX, and to me it's Carbon implementation seems rather flaky. Thus, while it can technically create applications that are Carbonised, it is far better to create the Classic applications now, and maybe the Carbon ones when this problem is fixed.

Now since the data files in Coldstone are, in fact, merely the application itself and the compiler files, both applications should still run fine. Simply open up the plain old Coldstone editor, and your problems should be fixed. To reopen your game, just use Coldstone's file browser system, and you should be up and running. BTW, the Classic version is, IMO, bettter than the Carbon one for three main reasons: stability, floating palettes, and dimension boxes in the Map Editor.

If, however, it still will not load, try trashing the Coldstone Preferences file in System Folder > Preferences. This should clear up any issues relating to Coldstone's file access (or it did for me when I used the Carbon editor in Classic). But if it still doesn't work, it might be necessary to delete all of the files relating to Coldstone on your hard drive, and reinstall from the .sit file. Or, of course, if you have already registered Coldstone, you can simply reinstall from the CD. If not, I hope you kept the archive, because otherwise you might have to download it again.

Anyway, give those solutions a try, and if it still doesn't work, post again here and I'll try to hlep some more. I'm going to try to emulate your problem tomorrow (It's 10pm here) and then see if I have any new insights.

Oh yes, I almost forgot..... try 'Build Release' rather than simply 'Launch'. This might help, as it builds all the files into a stand alone app, rather than merely launching it from the editor. Can't hurt to try.

Hope it works out for you guys!

-Andiyar

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"Any good that I may do here, let me do now, for I may not pass this way again"

This is probably too obvious, but I find when that happens, it usually means something's not quite right in the Game Options screen, or it's missing a required function. The CS manual mistakenly says fewer Events are required than actually are. (You need StartGame, Main, EndGame, at a bare minimum, plus location event links).

Sorry if I'm insulting your intelligence.

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-Fyre
http://www-students.biola.edu/~johns

Ouch! Same problem here....

I was in the middle of createing a game (in the OS X version of Coldstone) and was testing it within OS X and 9.2.2 and everthing was working great!!! However after hours of work I noticed that the game I was creating no longer worked when running on system 9. (see above message-same) Every thing works only in OS-X now.

I reinstalled, , I deleted prefs, I rebuilt the desktop, I even re-created the game and used dupicated items, NPC charaters and graphics. Still no luck.

So...I had to trash my game after hours of work and start over with the Coldstone version for System 9. (Things are looking good now)

I would advise everyone to stay away from OS X when running coldstone... your game may lock you out from running it on ANY system running 9!

Any ideas of a FIX?

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