Summary
The game should just run. Don't worry. You computer will be fine.
I believe that games should just play. I don't like games that require stuff that the average person won't have. So the game uses simple, well tested technology that's worked for years. But just to make sure, download the free demo when it's released on December 15th 2007.
Windows
The game is built on the Sludge game engine, so it's native to Windows. It's designed to run on any normal computer from the past few years. It doesn't use Direct X or OpenGL, it doesn't use any video codecs, and it doesn't require the latest faastest computer. Basically, if your computer can run at 1 MHz it should play OK. If it can run at 2 MHz it should play very smoothly. I began making it on a very cheap 1.7GHz machine, and currently use a bottom-of-the-range 2.5 GHz machine, so your computer is probably faster than mine.
Windows 95 to Vista
Sludge is designed for Windows 95, but plays perfectly in later versions up to Windows XP. It also plays perfectly in Vista, but right now there is a small chance that Vista will complain when you try to save a game. Vista is very picky about where it lets people save games. I'm working on that and it should be resolved by the time the game comes out.
Linux
How do you run the game under Linux? The simple answer is WINE. If you know Linux, you probably already know about WINE. CrossoverOffice also works, I am told - and Lindows has it as standard. I apologize for not having a true native Linux version. I had to start out with almost no budget, and the cheap (or free) adventure game engines either aren't cross platform or they're just aren't suitable for a game of this size. Sludge was the best I could find, because it runs fine using WINE or CrossoverOffice. So that's my apology out of the way. Am I forgiven?
I can't guarantee that this game will in every circumstance, but it should. It doesn't use Direct-X, it doesn't use any video codec, it doesn't require any particular graphics card, there really isn't much to go wrong. But to make sure, download the free demo and see if it works on your setup as well. This is what other users have said on the Sludge forums:
"From what I've tested thus far, both games I've made work very well in all versions (of WINE) though the newer, the better."
"I recommend CrossoverOffice"
"It runs under regular wine, but not under wine-X"
"From my experiences, SLUDGE works fine under the normal WINE. The games are fully playable, and stuff. Only thing that goes wrong is when playing a game, it doesn't size the screen, and you don't get to play fullscreen sometimes. This is a good example of clean code. If such a complex thing runs so well on a cheap emulator, it's bound to be good software."
Sometimes people say "Sludge crashes under wine" but they are always talking about the software development kit, not the games. The games work fine. The development kit works under some Wine setups as well, though not under others.
The Mac
The game is made with the Sludge engine, so it should run in a good emulator on the Mac. Again I apologize for not having a native Mac version, please see the Linux section above for my pathetic grovelling and excuses. You want more details? No problem. The following is taken from a thread over at Adventure Developers:
"The SLUDGE engine (thus games made with SLUDGE) and the development kit both run on Mac OS X using a nifty application called "Cross-Over". Cross-Over runs Windows applications without having to install Windows in an emulated/virtual environment. I can run Windows executables straight from Mac OS.
"It only works with Intel-based machines, and unfortunately I don't have sound, which is a pity (mostly for gamers who'd like to play SLUDGE games on their Mac). Developers can, however, program and compile their projects. It's quite fast, too!"
"After reading some info, I found out that Cross Over uses some of Wine's technology. Interesting..."
"It sounds like they're working on the port for Mac but it's still in the early stages."
Regarding the sound issue, the game doesn't use voiceovers, and the only sound in this music (plus a few minor sound effects). So you can get the same effect by firing up your favorite classical CD in the background. Sludge uses the BASS audio library (it's the only DLL in the game) so that's where the problem lies. Hopefully "Cross-Over" will be able to recognize the BASS DLL by the time the game comes out. Fingers crossed. if not, there is something zen-like in silence, don't you think?
Virtual machines
Finally, since Sludge is such well behaved code it will almost certainly work perfectly on any of the virtual machine software out there, running on any platform you like. But that means you have to buy a copy of Windows and install the whole thing, but you knew that anyway.
Spyware? Viruses? Uninstallers?
I believe in being simple. The game consiste of just four files, and doesn't hide anything else on your computer, it doesn't change any settings, it just sits in its folder until you choose "uninstall" and then those four files are deleted.
The four files are:
1. The Sludge game engine, as used on thousands of machines.
2. The game data file containing the words and pictures.
3. The BASS audio library (a DLL) for playing sounds. This stays safely in the same place as the game, it doesn't go in your Windows directory.
4. And an icon.
During the course of the game you might want to save some games, so each saved game will be a new file. And If you decide to run the game in a window instead of full screen, then a tiny text file will be created so the game can remember next time you play.
The installation is handled by the Inno installer, as used on countless million safe and successful installations. And Inno creates an uninstaller so all the original files will be deleted when you click on "uninstall."
And finally, the game has of course been tested for viruses and pronounced as clean.
Copy protection and DRM?
This game will have the strongest copy protection known to man: the honesty of its users. It's aimed at people who think about serious matters and care about topics like poverty and justice. I don't think my target audience is the kind of people who frequent warez sites and pass around pirate disks. And if those people do play the game, maybe the messages in Victor Hugo's story will give them something to think about.
So don't worry about the game trying to be clever and breaking your machine. It's a simple disk with a technically straightforward game. It should just work.
The bottom line
The bottom line is that the game should run fine on any flavor of Windows since 95, and if you prefer a different OS it has a decent chance of working on your favorite emulator. Download the demo and see!
Technical requirements
