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The Royal Archives => TSL General Archives => Topic started by: oberonqa on July 06, 2010, 09:55:13 AM

Title: The Silver Lining FAQ
Post by: oberonqa on July 06, 2010, 09:55:13 AM
TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.  What is The Silver Lining?

2.  Who is Phoenix Online Studios?

3.  What are the minimum system requirements for The Silver Lining?

4.  The Silver Lining does not work on my computer!  What do I do?

5.  The Silver Lining is running really badly on my computer!  What do I do?

6.  I'm stuck with a puzzle!  What do I do?

7.  I really love/hate The Silver Lining... especially such and such or this and that.  Where can I go to tell Phoenix Online Studios how I feel?

8.  Why is Episode 1 so short?  We waited eight years and this all we got?!?!?!

9.  When will the next episode of The Silver Lining be released?


1.  WHAT IS THE SILVER LINING?

Inspired by the King's Quest series of the 1980's and '90's, The Silver Lining is a non-commercial game that follows King Graham of Daventry as he searches for a cure to a terrible curse laid on his children by a sinister cloaked figure, and begins to learn that not everything in their lives and pasts is as it seems.

2.  WHO IS PHOENIX ONLINE STUDIOS

Phoenix Online Studios is a game development company dedicated to making engaging, compelling, cutting edge and generally awesome games. We have a dedicated team of individuals from all over the globe, who are so passionate about what we do they've given up their day jobs to pursue their dream of becoming game developers. Sounds crazy, doesn't it?

Gifted, brilliant, astonishing, unbelievable--we have yet to be called these things, but that hasn't stopped us from pursuing that dream! After two cease and desists from two different companies, we have come through and published our first non-commercial game, The Silver Lining, the first of an amazing line of games that will leave you wanting to come back for more!

3.  WHAT ARE THE MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SILVER LINING?

Windows XP, Vista or 7 **See NOTE1 for compatibility with other operating systems
1GHz Intel or AMD Processor
512 MB RAM (1GB recommended for Vista and 7)
100% DirectX compatible video card with 256 MB video RAM **See NOTE2 for driver compatibility issues / See NOTE3 regarding compatibility with integrated graphics controllers
DirectX 9.0c+

NOTE1:  At this time, Phoenix Online Studios does not provide technical support for The Silver Lining on operating systems other than Windows, (which includes running The Silver Lining on Linux or MacOS via emulation or virtualization).  However, the game runs on Intel Macs and Linux if they meet the requirements through Wine (http://www.winehq.org).  Information on running the game through Wine is provided here (http://www.postudios.com/blog/forum/index.php?topic=9323.0), and is officially supported by Atec123 on the forums.  If you are having trouble with anything relating to running the game in Wine, contact him directly or post in that linked thread.

NOTE2:  If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7 and are using the default graphics card driver that came with the computer (as both are loaded with a number of graphics card drivers already), you may run into OpenGL errors or the game may just freeze and crash. This is due to Windows NOT including OpenGL drivers with their default drivers (since Microsoft doesn't actually support OpenGL).  Please be sure to download the latest graphics card drivers from your manufacturer's website to ensure you are using OpenGL-compatible drivers.  For information regarding finding out if you are using Microsoft-supplied video drivers, please visit this thread (http://www.postudios.com/blog/forum/index.php?topic=8670.0).

NOTE3:  Integrated graphics controllers such as the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) or other integrated chipsets may require running the game at reduced graphics quality and/or resolution in order to achieve a playable gaming experience.


4.  THE SILVER LINING DOES NOT WORK ON MY COMPUTER!  WHAT DO I DO?

If you are experiencing technical difficulties installing or running The Silver Lining, please visit our Technical Support (http://www.postudios.com/blog/forum/index.php?board=58.0) Forum and open a trouble ticket.  When opening a trouble ticket, please be sure to include the following information so we can help you:

-> What kind of CPU/Processor you are using in your computer.

-> Amount of physical RAM you have installed on your computer.

-> What kind of Video Card you have installed in your computer (manufacturer, card model name).

-> Operating System you are using.

-> A brief description of the bug, error, or problem along with what you were doing when it occured.

5.  THE SILVER LINING IS RUNNING REALLY BADLY ON MY COMPUTER!  WHAT DO I DO?

Be sure to update your video card drivers to their most recent, stable version.  Often this will resolve the majority of framerate issues you may be experiencing.

nVidia Driver Page (http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index5.aspx?lang=en-us)
ATI Driver Page (http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_catalyst.aspx)

Be sure to close out any unnecessary programs that may be running in the background, such as instant messaging software, media player software, etc.  Also be sure to not run an anti-virus scan while playing The Silver Lining.  Programs running in the background consume computer resources that could otherwise be allocated to running The Silver Lining.

6.  I'M STUCK WITH A PUZZLE!  WHAT DO I DO?

"Leave no stone unturned, no path unexplored!"

Have you tried everything, even a solution that doesn't make sense right away? Try something new that you haven't done before, you may be surprised!

Or, are you sure you haven't missed something? Go back and check out places you've been to before, or people you may have already talked to. Sometimes you'll find things have changed and people have new things to talk about.

If you're still stumped, try visiting our Hints (http://www.postudios.com/blog/forum/index.php?board=60.0) Forum and asking your fellow adventurers for hints and help!

7.  I REALLY LOVE/HATE THE SILVER LINING... ESPECIALLY SUCH AND SUCH OR THIS AND THAT.  WHERE CAN I GO TO TELL PHOENIX ONLINE STUDIOS HOW I FEEL?

We're interested in constructive feedback on how to improve our games, so please feel free to visit our Fan Feedback (http://www.postudios.com/blog/forum/index.php?board=67.0) Forum and let us know how we can do this.

We do ask that you make sure your feedback is helpful--give us specifics and give us reasons, especially if you're unsatisfied or dislike something about the game. Simply saying 'this is awful' doesn't help us make improvements, after all, and we want to make the best games we can for our fans!

8.  WHY IS EPISODE 1 SO SHORT?  WE WAITED EIGHT YEARS AND THIS IS ALL WE GOT?!?!?

Since The Silver Lining is an episodic game, comprising five episodes, it follows along the same principle as a book.  A good book has a prologue, the actual story, the climax, and then an epilogue.  Looking at it that way, Episode 1 is the prologue to the story to come.  It has a lot of supposition and introductions in it, which sets up the story to come... just like the prologue of a good book.  So while Episode 1 is indeed a bit on the short side, do not worry about the overall length of the game.  The real meat and potatoes (read: the puzzle-solving that we all love!) is very much a part of the remaining four episodes.

9.  WHEN WILL THE NEXT EPISODE IN THE SILVER LINING BE RELEASED?

The next episode, Episode 3, is releasing on January 29th, 2011.