Support

At BCSoft we are dedicated to making sure you are able to enjoy all the BCSoft games.  If you are having trouble getting one of the games to run on your system, use any of the following suggestions, or, if that doesn't resolve the issue, please feel free to post it in our discussion forums and we'll do our best to fix the problem.

Q- How do I know if my Video Card is OpenGL compatible? / How do I get OpenGL drivers for my video card?

A- All video boards made after 1999 are OpenGL compatible.  However, not all cards include the drivers for OpenGL.  The driver will make it so that your card works with OpenGL games.  If you are having trouble getting the game to load at all on your computer, the problem may be that you don't have the OpenGL driver installed.

To solve this problem, you should go to the website of your video card manufacturer if you have a separate video card, or your motherboard manufacturer if your video card is built into your motherboard.  They should have OpenGL drivers on their webpage.

If you are unsure who made your video card, then you can determine this in one of two ways.  The link below for GLSetup.com will help you download a program that will identify your board manufacturer and lead you to the correct drivers.

You may also go to Start, then to Control Panel.  In the Control Panel, click on the "System" icon.  (You may have to unhide it depending on what version of Windows you are running)  After you click on system, find the "Device Manager."  (In Windows XP, it is located in the Hardware tab)  In the device manager, click the "+" next to "Display adapters."  The information that branches down off of "Display Adapters" gives you the necessary information for your video card.  You may choose to write down this information and do a search for the manufacturer, or you may be able to find the manufacturer from this list.

Alternatively these links may help:
http://www.opengl.org/users/faq/
GLSetup.com
 

Q- How do I download a game, install it, and then play it?

A- Downloading a game can be intimidating for anyone.  The following steps will guide you through the process so you can start enjoying all the games BCSoft has to offer immediately.

Step 1: Find the game you want to download.  From the "Downloads" page, find the button that says "Download" that is located to the left of the game you want to download and click on the button, you will see the following screen:

Step 2: From the options given, choose "Save."

Step 3: After you click on "Save" you will see the following box pop-up on your screen:

Step 4: With the screen above showing on your computer screen, you will need to choose where you are saving the file.  It is important that you save it in a location where you will be able to find it.  If you are unsure where to save it, I recommend saving it to either your desktop or in c:\

Step 5: While the game is downloading, you will see the following screen:  It will float pieces of paper from left to right (from the world to the folder) as the file is downloaded.  Below, the white "Progress Bar" will fill in either blue or green until the file is fully downloaded.  Below you have a box that says "Close this dialog box when download completes."  I recommend that you uncheck that box.  When the download is complete, click on "Open" and the installation of your new game will begin. (skip to step 6)

Step 5b: If you chose not to open the file when it was done downloading, you will need to locate it.  If you saved it to your desktop, just look at your desktop until you find the file.  Once you have found it, double-click on the file.

Step 7: After you double-click on the file you will be told that your action will install the game you downloaded, you can then choose whether or not you want to continue with the installation.

Step 8: You are then told that you are about to install your game.  In order for the installation to go off without any problems, you should not run any programs in the background.  This means you should close down your internet browser, such as Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, and not have any programs listed at the bottom of your screen in the taskbar. Click on "Next >" to continue to the next step.

Step 9: The next part of the installation is the License Agreement.  Please read the agreement and be sure you follow it, you are legally bound to do it if you agree and can be prosecuted in a court of law.  If you accept the agreement, click on the dot next to "I accept the Agreement" and you will then be able to click on the "Next >" button.  If you do not choose to accept the agreement, you will not be able to continue the installation.  Please contact BCSoft for a refund if you choose not to accept the agreement on a BCSoft game. Click on "Next >" to continue to the next step.

Step 10: The "Destination Directory" is the location where the game will be installed.  You should choose a location that will be easy for you to find in the future.  We recommend that you not change where the game is going to be installed unless you have a specific reason for doing so.  Any possible Future updates will assume you installed in the default directory, and if you did not, you'll need to point the update to the correct directory in order for it to work correctly. Click on "Next >" to continue to the next step.

Step 11: The "Start Menu Folder" is the location you will find the game on your start menu.  So when you click on "Start" you will be able to find the game.  We will touch again on the Start Folder in step 17b if you want to jump ahead and get a better idea of how it looks. Click on "Next >" to continue to the next step.

Step 12: This step allows you to create a desktop icon.  A desktop icon will make it easier to find the game after you have installed it.  We recommend that you do not uncheck the box next to "Create a desktop icon."  We will return to the desktop icon in step 17. Click on "Next >" to continue to the next step.

Step 14: This step is just to verify that the directory where the game installed is where you want to have it installed.  If you do not like the location or any other option of the installation, choose "< Back," otherwise, click on the "Install" button and the installation will commence.

Step 15: During this step you need do nothing but watch as the installation occurs.  Each file will be named (albeit briefly) as it is pulled out of the installation file and installed onto your computer.  When the files have all been installed, you will automatically be taken to the next step.

Step 16: Installation is complete!  Now to run the game the first time, you can leave the box next to "Launch [Game Title]" checked and click on the "Finish" button, and the game will start right up!

Step 17: After you have played and left the game, you will be able to return to it in the future by finding its icon on the desktop and double-clicking on it.  If you did not choose to create an icon when you installed the game, you can launch it a different way as shown in step 17b.

Step 17b: If you choose to or not to create an icon, you will always be able to launch the game by clicking on start, going to programs and choosing the game's title, and then finding the game from the selected items and clicking on it.

That concludes our look into how to download a game, install it, and then run it.  If you have any further questions, please post them in the forum and we'd be happy to answer them for you.