I thought I could find this information on the boards, but while I try to comb the threads again I keep running into spoilers - argh!

1) I know I read somewhere about being able to run Revelation in its own window - the purpose being to be able to toggle back and forth between extracted photos and/or hints without having to save and shut down a current game.

2) Is there any way to use the camera in the middle of a movie? For instance, I wanted to capture the wave forms that I had to help Atrus with in the beginning. Maybe I won't need them later, but they're one of those things that "you never know."

3) If I can't use the camera, can I use Print Screen?

4) Are there other handy tips regular gamers would take for granted that we luddites might not happen to know?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Are these questions that belong in one of the other discussion forums? (They don't seem to be tech help exactly, but they're not really discussing the game either.)

1. Alt+Tab. Or this
2. No but what do you want to do with thoses lines ?
3. Yes.
4. The content of a puzzle is not used in others puzzles.

OK. Here's what I think I understand:

1) Alt + Tab will allow me to minimize my game screen so that I can "see" something else: such as a webpage or my own pictures I've captured using #3 below - much better quality pictures than what I see with the camera.

2) I just didn't know whether the shape of those lines would be the key I needed somewhere else. IIRC, in Riven and Exile I would often have to backtrack to something I hadn't known I'd need later. I was hoping to avoid so much of that while playing Revelation.

3) OK, so although the in-game camera won't stop during the video clips, Print Screen will capture a moment of time within a movie, right?

4) Ah, so. This helps. Thanks!

As a side comment, note that on some PC's, doing an Alt-Tab will indeed minimize the game, but maximizing the game again will lead to problems. Like crashes to Desktop, weird video anomalies, etc.

So, I try to avoid doing an Alt-Tab during a game, Revelation or whatever.

Heimdall
Semper ubi sub ubi

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Heimdall G,

Drat. Do I dare try the other way - as posted by maztec back in 2004? I had seen that suggestion, but - as usual - I don't really understand tech stuff.

When you say "weird video anomalies," just what kind of thing do you mean? Not (I hope) like the salt spray or rain when I get to Haven which - while I stand up on the lookout point (I think that's what it is; it doesn't seem to have any other purpose) at the top of the first stair - seems to come up from the rock formation behind me in a curve that has its own "shadow," where no spray appears?

Basically it's :
1. Create a file named game.dsc in the bin directory (usually C:\Program Files\UBISOFT\Myst IV - Revelation\bin)
2. Put this in the file:
{graphic
full_screen ( false )
}

3. Yes.

The "salt spray or rain" in Haven is not a weird video anomaly

The instructions to create a file in the "bin directory" don't mean anything to me. Where do I go, what do I see as I attempt to accomplish this? I'm sorry, but remember you're talking to someone who didn't even know that Alt + Tab was a command I could use to minimize my screen.

No, I knew that the spray/rain itself is not an anomaly, but I wondered whether the "shadow" effect - where I can see a curve-shaped section without the spray/rain - whether THAT effect is an anomaly.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: LynComeLately,

Note that Alt-Tab isn't so much for minimizing a program as it is for tabbing back and forth among your open programs. For example, if you have several programs open and you do an Alt-Tab and continue to hold down Alt, you'll get a small window with icons representing all open programs in it. If you then press Tab while still holding down Alt, you'll cycle among the icons, highlighting one icon at a time. Stop pressing Alt, and you'll open the program whose icon you last had highlighted.

Here’s a way to create the new file, specifically C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\Myst IV - Revelation\bin\game.dsc. It is VERY important that you follow these instructions EXACTLY as written. Print them out so that you can check off each instruction as you complete it.
-- a. Open a Windows (not Internet) Explorer session.
----- 1. Click on Start > All Programs > Accessories > Windows Explorer.
-- b. Browse to C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\Myst IV - Revelation\bin.
-- c. Double-click on DARE.INI to open the file with Notepad.
-- d. Click on File > Save As... on the top taskbar.
----- 1. In the File name: box, type game.
----- 2. Click on Save. You now have a file named game.txt, and DARE.INI is unchanged.
-- e. Delete everything contained in game.txt, but do not delete the file itself.
-- f. You are now looking at a “blank page”. Type in:

{graphic full_screen (false)}

----- 1. Note that they're "{" and "}", and not "(" and ")".
-- g. Click on File > Save on the top taskbar.
-- h. Close Notepad.
-- i. Right-click on game.txt, then click on Rename in the resulting drop-down menu.
-- j. Change txt to dsc, press Enter, and click on Yes.
----- 1. Check for typos before pressing Enter, and be certain that it's a "." and not a ",".
-- k. Close Windows Explorer. You now have in C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\Myst IV - Revelation\bin:
----- 1. A file named game.dsc.
----- 2. The original DARE.INI file (not folder), with no changes made to it.
-- l. If you have a file named game.dsc.ini, you made a mistake while following the above instructions. They must be followed EXACTLY! You will also not have a folder named DARE.
-- m. Play Revelation.

Heimdall
Semper ubi sub ubi

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Heimdall G,

Thanks for explaining the use and funtion of Alt-Tab!

A couple more clarifications?

I got it that the brackets are supposed to be the braces "{" style, not regular parentheses, but since we're being particular I have to ask also:

1) There need to be hard returns to create the 3 separate lines?

2) There must be extra spaces around the word "false" inside the regular parentheses?

No to both of your questions.

1. You can use an ordinary space and write everything on the same line.
2. You don't need extra spaces. You don't even need spaces between full_screen and (

How about between "graphic" and "full-screen" - does it all run together? Or should there be an actual space bar entry between the two?

I think I must not have done all the steps correctly. Once this change has been made, does Revelation look any different? (Such as a slightly smaller window than it had been running?) Do I minimize by still using Alt-Tab?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: LynComeLately,

You need something between graphic and full_screen (a space or a return).

Yes, it looks different.
Yes, you still use alt-tab to switch app.

Another couple details I forgot to ask about:

1) When I clicked on the folder name and chose Rename, I was given a window with the file name box, which did not show a file extension. I went ahead and added dot-dsc, but the name under the icon was still not showing an extension. Was I trying to do this using the wrong XP view?

2) When I finish creating this new file, do I just leave the old DARE folder sitting there empty?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: LynComeLately,

1)enable the extensions in the folders options

2)yes

Oh, no!

I followed the directions accurately this time, I think...at least I now see my Revelation screen inside a frame that looks like a regular Windows window. But it won't allow me to minimize the window!

Of course there's no mouse cursor for the window, but Alt-Tab doesn't work either. I Alt-Tabbed and Tab-Altted over and over again -- from the game menu, from an opened Saved game, and from a new part of a Saved game -- but nothing happened. The window didn't even blink.

1) Do I have to start a brand new game?

2) Could I have missed something when I made the change to the DARE file? Does the DARE file end up being a Notepad file? (or was it one from the start? I don't recall)

3) Does the new game-dot-dsc file I created actually become a game-dot-dsc-dot-ini file? (that's what I see in the bin folder now)

Alt-Tab doesn't minimize windowed game. It switches between apps.

1. No.
2. What are you doing with the DARE file ? (It was a notepad file)
3. No. You have game.dsc (the new file) AND game.ini (already there) not game.dsc.ini

OK, it doesn't minimize. But what should happen when I press Alt-Tab? Currently, the game just keeps playing in full screen mode. How do I get out to access Paint, for instance?

1) OK. Thanks.

2) I started with the DARE.INI file to create the game.dsc file. (See Heimdall's directions, above.)

3)When I look into the bin folder, I see the DARE.INI notepad file, a game.dsc.ini notepad file, and a game.dsc file. Is that correct?

btw, is it just coincidence that since I made this change, I'm seeing graphics glitches across my screen?

I'll begin to change my angle of view and I see horizontal misalignment. Fortunately it's been just a momentary thing, as if the graphics aren't keeping up with the mouse movement.

But also the interaction between the game and the menu has suddenly slowed down noticably. After I press Esc to Quit the game, the cursor freezes on the screen and then I have to wait for the screen to change to show the menu. Before I tried to put the game in a Window, it didn't act like that. Also, at the game menu, each time I click on a menu item (as in Save, or Quit, or Resume) the cursor freezes and there is another noticeable wait. Is this a known problem associated with playing in a Window?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: LynComeLately,

Q. When I clicked on the folder name and chose Rename, I was given a window with the file name box, which did not show a file extension. I went ahead and added dot-dsc, but the name under the icon was still not showing an extension. Was I trying to do this using the wrong XP view?
A. This is due to not having your Windows Explorer file view options set properly. You need to set Windows Explorer options so that you can see all file extensions.
-- a. Close all open programs, then open Windows Explorer.
----- 1. Click on Start > All Programs > Accessories > Windows Explorer.
----- 2. Or, click on Start > Run, type C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe in the Open: box, and click on OK.
-- b. On the Windows Explorer top taskbar, click on Tools > Folder Options > View.
-- c. On the General tab under Tasks, click on the Use Windows classic folders radio button to activate it.
-- d. Click on Apply if it isn't grayed out.
-- e. Click on the View tab.
-- f. Make certain that there are checks in at least the following boxes (click on a box to check it):
----- 1. Display simple folder view in Explorer's Folders list
----- 2. Display the contents of system folders
----- 3. Display the full path in the address bar
----- 4. Display the full path in the title bar
----- 5. Remember each folder's view settings
-- g. If there is a check in the Hide extensions for known file types box, click on the box to uncheck it.
-- h. Under "Hidden files and folders", click on the Show hidden files and folders radio button to activate it.
-- i. Click on Apply.
-- j. Click on Apply to All Folders > Yes.
-- k. Close Windows Explorer. The above setting changes will take effect completely the next time you open Windows Explorer. You will now be able to see the .dsc file extension.
__________________________________

Q. Could I have missed something when I made the change to the DARE file?
A. Yes, and apparently you did. I’ve edited my post of Sun January 04 2009 15:51, above, to add a couple of things, and you should re-read it.
__________________________________

Q. Does the DARE file end up being a Notepad file?
A. No, because there’s no such thing as a “Notepad file”. Some files can be opened with Notepad for making changes or simply to look at the contents, but the files retain their unique character via their file types. Like .ini, .txt, .dsc, etc.
__________________________________

Q. Does the new game-dot-dsc file I created actually become a game-dot-dsc-dot-ini file?
A. No, it does not. If you have a file named game.dsc.ini, you did make a mistake and/or left out a step while following the instructions.

When you create game.dsc correctly as above, in C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\Myst IV - Revelation\bin, you’ll have:
----- 1. A file named game.dsc.
----- 2. The original DARE.INI file (not folder), with no changes made to it.
___________________________________

Q. When I look into the bin folder, I see the DARE.INI notepad file, a game.dsc.ini notepad file, and a game.dsc file. Is that correct?
A. No, see above.
___________________________________

Q. btw, is it just coincidence that since I made this change, I'm seeing graphics glitches across my screen? I'll begin to change my angle of view and I see horizontal misalignment. Fortunately it's been just a momentary thing, as if the graphics aren't keeping up with the mouse movement.

But also the interaction between the game and the menu has suddenly slowed down noticably. After I press Esc to Quit the game, the cursor freezes on the screen and then I have to wait for the screen to change to show the menu. Before I tried to put the game in a Window, it didn't act like that. Also, at the game menu, each time I click on a menu item (as in Save, or Quit, or Resume) the cursor freezes and there is another noticeable wait. Is this a known problem associated with playing in a Window?
A. Possibly a coincidence, but delete the game.dsc.ini file. This may make the "graphics glitches" and the slowdowns go away. Or maybe not, since your PC is working harder to display Revelation in a window. It just may not like doing so and is complaining.
__________________________________

Q. When I finish creating this new file, do I just leave the old DARE folder sitting there empty?
A. You will not have a *folder* named DARE, only the original DARE.INI *file*. (Folders or subfolders contain files. The symbol “\” in Windows denotes a folder or subfolder.) This should be clearer, now that you've set your file view options properly.

DARE.INI must end up with its original content unchanged. Starting with DARE.INI was only to save a few steps, but making a mistake and/or leaving something out may have resulted in a mangled file. So, let's make certain that DARE.INI contains what it should contain.
-- a. Close all open programs, then open Windows Explorer.
-- b. Browse to C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\Myst IV - Revelation\bin.
-- c. Right-click on DARE.INI, then click on Open in the resulting drop-down menu.
----- 1. If the file does not open, right-click on it again, and this time click on Open with... in the drop-down menu.
----- 2. Click on Notepad to select it, either under Recommended Programs: or Other Programs:, then click on OK. DARE.INI should now be open.
-- d. DARE.INI should contain:

[Renderer DS3D Options]
DS3D_CACHE_SIZE=2097152

[Sound Manager Options]
NB_AUDIBLE_VOICES=20

If what you see is close in terms of the DS3D_CACHE_SIZE and NB_AUDIBLE_VOICES numbers, that's OK, and you should continue as below. However, if the numbers are either not there or very different, stop here and post back.
__________________________________

Now a bit about running Revelation in a window.

A correct game.dsc will allow Revelation to run in a window, with the Windows taskbar visible at the bottom of the screen, and Alt-Tab active and functioning properly. You’ll also have the Revelation mouse cursor (the pointing hand) active.

What does Alt-Tab functioning properly mean? As I said above, Alt-Tab isn't so much for minimizing a program as it is for tabbing back and forth among your open programs. For example, if you have several programs open and you do an Alt-Tab and continue to hold down Alt, you'll get a small window with icons representing all open programs in it. If you then press Tab while still holding down Alt, you'll cycle among the icons, highlighting one icon at a time. Stop pressing Alt, and you'll open the program whose icon you last had highlighted. If you have a correct game.dsc, that's what you should get with Revelation.

A couple of caveats:
-- a. Alt-Tab allows tabbing back and forth among your open programs. However, if the only program you have open is Revelation, nothing will happen when you do an Alt-Tab. You’ll just stay in Revelation! If that’s what you’ve been seeing, the Revelation window and Alt-Tab are functioning properly. Try opening a program before starting Revelation, then do an Alt-Tab – you should get the small window with icons for Revelation and the open program. If not, post back.
-- b. If you have the bottom taskbar showing with a Revelation window, you may not be able to see the button function names on the first options menu. The button names will be hidden by the bottom taskbar if your screen resolution is 800x600 or 1024x768. If that bothers you, let me know. There’s a workaround you can use.

Whew! Thank you once again, Heimdall, for taking the time to "talk" me through all this. Here are some responses:

QA 1: I had kinda figured this out already, but you supplied additional useful information, which I have now implemented.

QA 2: I read the edited post and understand where I went wrong. Ive now corrected my error(see below).

QA 3: I called the DARE.INI file a Notepad file only because the icon I see associated with it is the Notepad one. So, according to your explanation then, I assume Windows chooses an icon of the program that can open the file. With the game.dsc file, I now see what I think is called the Windows default icon/?

QA 4&5: I began to suspect that the game.dsc.ini file was somehow an error created when I couldn't see the file extensions. I deleted it and now have the correct DARE.INI and game.dsc file. Also, the game is back to running faster. It doesn't pause at the screen showing when I try to Quit, and it doesn't pause at the menu with the hand cursor frozen to its button. Much nicer.

QA 6: Unfortunately the graphics glitches (if that's the correct terminology) are still occurring. Not all the time, but often enough to be distracting. Can I simply delete game.dsc if I want to find out whether the problem is related to runnning in a Window (i.e., PC working running harder to keep up)?

QA 7: Oops. Yes, of course it's a file not a folder. Don't know why I confused those terms. I confirmed that the contents of the DARE.INI *file* is exactly what you show.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I opened Word and Paint before starting Revelation, so I would have other programs to toggle between. It worked like a breeze . . . exactly as described. Hooray!

I had noticed that the Menu button names were hidden by the bottom taskbar, and initially it did throw me. In fact, I clicked on the Credits once by mistake, which was an unpleasant surprise since it's apparently programed to not allow an Esc! But I decided I just had to memorize them all, so I'm fine now without seeing the labels below.

Q. Can I simply delete game.dsc if I want to find out whether the problem is related to runnning in a Window (i.e., PC working running harder to keep up)?
A. Yes, you can. But instead of deleting the file, you might want to rename it to something like OLD_game.dsc. That way, if you want to play Revelation in a window again, all you'll need to do is re-rename the file, not re-create it.