Hello. I'm having a lot of trouble installing any of the available Myst IV patches and getting them to work. They download as a .jar file; I click on that and it brings up an Install Wizard. I go through the screens on this Wizard and every time it ends up telling me that there's not a compatible Myst product to update on my hard drive.

I checked many of the other postings and FAQ's on this forum before posting this message and still didn't find anything related. Has anyone else run across this as well? Suggestions?

I'm running OS X.4.1 with 640MB RAM, 733mHz G4.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Ubi Support has said:

"Please make sure that you are selecting the Myst4 root folder and NOT the Myst4.app file when browsing to the game directory.

Also, it seems that the Myst IV patcher will fail if the vpd.properties file is missing from your home directory. The vpd.properties file contains a registry of checksums and pathnames for all installed files. The patcher uses this file to know where you installed Myst IV, and if you've installed the patch yet.

If you had deleted the vpd.properties file, or are experiencing a problem installing the patch, you will need to uninstall the game, delete the files and folder left over in the game directory (if any) and reinstall the game to the default location. After reinstalling, immediately apply the v1.01 patch."

So what it sounds like (after reading this and a few other posts) is that the game and game files cannot be updated successfully if the game isn't installed in the default location. Is this correct?

...so do I then have to apply the patches in order? Or can I simply get the latest patch - 1.03 I think - and install that?

I'm reinstalling the game now in the default location and will go from there.

As a follow-up question, after I've re-installed the game, is there any way to make use of the old saved game files that I had?

Ok, so I just answered all of my own questions that I posted above. I re-installed to the default location and successfully updated to 1.03. I migrated all my saved games and all seems to be working well now.

I do have one other question though. Can I ever move the game files from the default location on my hard drive, or do I risk upsetting some kind of alchemistic binary happiness that the game has with being in that location?

Thanks again!

Now I'm very confused. I asked ubisoft a question about MYST IV on OS Tiger (10.4) and JASON replied: "This game is not supported for use with Tiger. Apple is aware of the problem, and should be working on an OS update to correct it." But according to your post, sounds like your using the same Mac I have, a G4 Quicksilver, and are successfully running MYST IV. My last response from ubisoft support, again from JASON, was: "No, 10.4.1 does not resolve the problem. Unfortunately, we don't have much information about this since the problem is entirerly with the operating system and not with the game. For more information, your best bet is going to be the forums for the game at http://forums.ubi.com." Maybe one of the moderators can answer?

@ swedberg: I haven't really had any trouble running the game until it came time to install the updates as I outlined in my previous posts. And now everything seems to work fine (knock on wood), if not a little smoother even.

I'm skeptical about their claims that the OS is the problem. I've heard a lot more talk about people having DVD-ROM drive and graphics card compatibility issues than problems with the OS.

Also, just judging from the look of the so-called Install Wizards that Ubisoft is using this time around, it's clear that they didn't spend a lot of time worrying about modifying the interface for the Mac community - it all feels very PeeCee. It's a very crappy port of a PC Install Wizard.

So perhaps Ubisoft is right afterall...maybe it is a conflict with the OS...but I guarantee it's not because Apple didn't do its homework!

so WHERE are the MYST IV patches for Mac os X? i see tons of post talking about the patches, .jar files, whatever, but where are they? MAC, not WIN. Thanks!!

The Revelation v1.01 and v1.03 Mac patches are available here.

For OS X 10.3, an update to 10.3.8 is recommended.

quote:

Originally posted by swedberg71:
Now I'm very confused. I asked ubisoft a question about MYST IV on OS Tiger (10.4) and JASON replied: "This game is not supported for use with Tiger. Apple is aware of the problem, and should be working on an OS update to correct it."

That's too bad. I'm running 10.4.2 and cannot run the demo, so I guess it hasn't been fixed yet. For what it is worth, I get the following error in the console:
http://www.mystrevelation.com/us/swf/hbe-v65-media.js:R...ia.js:ReferenceError - Can't find variable: _pn

for what it's worth, i wanted to note that i am indeed getting my Demo to work using a far-flung tip from another board. i will paste it below. it answered an old demo bug where the package contents were incorrect. now; can anyone try this with the full vrsn on Tiger and tell us all whether or not it works?

http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=400102&f=580100736&m=493003407

Posted Sun September 12 2004 08:13
I had the same problem with the demo as everyone else, and tracked down this page. The instructions on using the Terminal window can be simplified quite a bit:

Get Info on Myst4.app and set it to Read/Write
Open Terminal
Type: cd
(that's "cd" followed by a space)
Drag the Myst4.app icon into the Terminal window, which will give you the path to the app, without you having to think in an MS-DOS way!
Press return.
Type the magic line: chmod a+x Myst4
Press return, quit Terminal.

Now, instead of going into the contents to run the modified file, just double click on the nice looking Myst4.app icon.

The opening screen for the game seems to be very demanding. Even on my 1 GHz G4 it operates slowly. Fortunately the actual game runs smoother, but it does have very long load times between nodes.

...

for me, Revelation marks the end of the Myst saga... i am excited about End of Ages, but actually have found Exile and now Revelation to be truer in spirit to what i remember from Riven, which was where it all began for me. i want to be able to play the full version of Revelation, even if it's all a dying flame in a fire gone out. so, i hope this tip also fixes the full version.

- aqaraza

Hey, I'm not sure if anyone's still looking at this thread or whatever, but I have one of those new Intel iMacs running Tiger 10.4.4, and I was having a lot of trouble getting Myst IV to work.
However, with much, MUCH appreciation to the person who posted the above post, following the directions they said works perfectly!

Has anyone tried to run Myst IV on a Intel-Based iMac. I'm runnning 10.4.5

The guy immediately above you has.

And if aqaraza's post of Mon September 19 2005 22:44 (the guy above the guy immediately above) doesn't help, the procedure detailed in Myst V: Installing on Mac OS X Intel, with appropriate modifications, may also work for Revelation.

I tried following aqaraza's suggestion and it didn't work. I had installed Myst IV on my dad's new Intel iMac running Tiger 10.4.4 and just can't get it to launch. Nothing happens, no response. I've tried doing the terminal thing several times now, and have now uninstalled the program twice, from two separate locations. I initially installed the Ubisoft folder in Applications and then in the (default) root directory. So there were two versions, I realized when I went to try a clean sweep. I just deleted the vpd.properties file as well. The patches didn't help either. I'm wondering if there might be a conflict between the patched v1.03 and the Terminal directions given by aqaraza? Also, I have NO IDEA how to use the Terminal. I wonder if aqaraza has the original tip from the "far-flung" board which he simplified in his post, and could maybe post it? Perhaps it is more like the "Terminal for Dummies" version that I really need. Remember, I HAVE NEVER OPENED THE TERMINAL BEFORE. Please imagine you are me and try explaining exactly, in detail, as to a very slow person how to make Myst 4 run on this computer. My dad also bought Myst V the same day as he bought Myst IV and the computer, but I am waiting to play Myst V until I get through IV. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have played the first 3 Mysts on my own computers, and am going to say goodbye to my dad's iMac for a few months. I don't think I'd be able to run either IV or V on my own G4 400 MHz at home, so will leave the games here until I return. Hopefully by the time I get back, there will either be a new patch which fixes the Intel incompatibility issues, or someone will provide clearer instructions of how to make it work using the Terminal, specifically when to do the Terminal input; immediately after the installation I assume? Thanks for any help anyone can give me. Goodbye for now.

A good tutorial on what the Terminal is and how to use it is found in Mac OS X Unix Tutorial.