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- Audio Problems: I don't hear sounds or music in my game.
- Backup/Recovery: Can I back up my savegame files and/or move them to another Windows computer?
- Backup/Recovery: Can I make a CD backup of the setup file for the game that I downloaded?
- Cauldron: My villager dropped the cauldron, and I can't find it anywhere. Can I get it back?
- Collectibles: Collectibles aren't producing tech points.
- Deleted game: Is it possible to recover a game that was accidentally deleted?
- Display Problems: All I see is a black (or white) screen when I launch the game.
- Display Problems: The game does not display properly on my computer.
- Display Problems: The game doesn't fit on my screen.
- Display Problems: When I try to run the game, my screen is gray.
- Elders: I can't get more than 50 Esteemed Elders/Totems.
- Error: The game crashes when I try to run it. Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
- Errors: Virtual Villagers - The Lost Children.exe is not a valid Win32 application. How do I fix this?
- Errors: "Error while unpacking program, code LP5. Please report to author." when attempting to run the game.
- Errors: "Program stopped working" in Windows Vista.
- Errors: "Update failed. Are you online?" message when attempting to update my game stats.
- Errors: "Virtual Villagers has stopped working" message in Windows Vista.
- Errors: Failed initializing DirectDraw. Only 16-bit and 32-bit displays are supported in windowed mode.
- Errors: I can't install the game, due to an NSIS error.
- Errors: I get an error message: Could not open display. Error code=0xc8660160 or 0xc8660110
- Errors: Missing export DDRAW.DLL:DirectDrawCreate.EX.
- Errors: This program has been damaged, possibly by a bad sector of the hard drive or a virus. Please reinstall it.
- Forums: I am having problems trying to access the game forums.
- Game Freezes: My game freezes when I try to refresh statistics.
- Game Freezes: My game is sluggish, jerky, or freezes up.
- Game won't run: My Virtual Villagers: The Lost Children (Windows) game quits before it completely loads.
- Game won't run: The game minimizes to the taskbar and can't be played. I hear the game running, but when I click it the game goes back to the taskbar.
- Gong: I can't get one of the gong pieces.
- Gong: I can't pick up one of the gong pieces.
- High Scores List/Leader board: Can I get on the leader board if I didn't buy my game directly from LDW?
- High Scores List/Leader board: Why don't my game scores appear on the leader board?
- Installation: How do I reinstall Virtual Villagers: The Lost Children for Windows or install it on a different computer that I own?
- Internet: Do LDW's games connect to the Internet during game play?
- Masters: My villagers aren't progressing beyond Adept skill level.
- Missing .exe file: When I try to launch the game, I get the message that Windows is searching for the .exe file. Where did my game go?
- Multiple players: How do I have multiple games going in Virtual Villagers: The Lost Children?
- Names changing: Why do the names of my villagers keep changing and duplicating?
- One gender left: There are only males (or females) left in my tribe. Is there any hope for this game?
- One villager left: There is only one villager left in my tribe. Is there any hope for this game?
- Pause: How do I pause (or unpause) the game?
- Pause: I paused my game overnight, but my villagers all died. Why did that happen?
- Pause: I paused my game, but when I started it again my villagers were all in different places. Why did that happen?
- Percentage completion: The game isn't displaying the percentage of completion on a project that my builders are working on.
- Population: What is the maximum population that I can have in my game?
- Saving game: My game isn't saving my progress, and it starts a new game every time I launch it.
- Stew: Why don't all of the stews that I make count in the stats?
- Time Change: Will Daylight Savings Time affect my games?
- Time: Time isn't passing properly in my game.
- Transferring characters: Can I transfer my characters, food, tech points, or anything from Virtual Villagers: A New Home to Virtual Villagers: The Lost Children?
- Virus/Spyware: My anti-virus software has notified me that there's a virus in the game and has removed it. How do I get my game back?
- White boxes: I edited some of the images in my game, and now they have white boxes around them. How do I fix them?
- Windows 7: Will LDW's games work with Windows 7?
- Windows Vista: Will LDW's games work with Windows Vista?
- ~~ My question is not listed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Errors: Failed initializing DirectDraw. Only 16-bit and 32-bit displays are supported in windowed mode.
The following procedures describe all of the currently known causes and solutions for display-related problems when attempting to run Virtual Villagers: The Lost Children for Windows. The following steps will help you to determine the cause of the problem.
Note: If your game had been running properly, and you changed modes from full-screen to windowed (or vice versa), you can force the game back to the working mode by performing the procedure below.
To change the display mode of your game:
Look in the folder where the game is installed (it's usually found in Program Files on your hard drive). In that folder you should see a file called either ldw.ini or ldw with a file type of Configuration Settings (the icon will look like a notepad with a gear on it), depending upon how you have your folder options set in Windows. If you double-click on that file, you should see the file opened in Notepad and displaying several settings.
To force the game back to full-screen mode, you should change the settings in that file so that they look like this:
[ldw]
Fullscreen=1
ForceFullscreen=1
ForceWindowed=0
UseVsync=0
To force the game to run in windowed mode, you should change the settings in that file so that they look like this:
[ldw]
Fullscreen=0
ForceFullscreen=0
ForceWindowed=1
UseVsync=0
Then select File=>Save and the new settings will be saved. Try running the game again and see if it displays correctly.
If that doesn't restore the game to proper operation, or if you'd like to determine if your computer's graphics settings are appropriate for our games, you should go through the following procedures in order.
First, make sure that your video adapter's hardware acceleration is set correctly. If hardware acceleration is set too low, required graphic functions (such as DirectDraw Acceleration) will be disabled. To check this setting, perform the following steps:
- Right click on the Windows desktop (make sure you're not on an application icon)
- Select "Properties" from
the popup menu (at the bottom)
- Click the "Settings" tab at the far right of the Display Properties window
- Click on "Advanced"
- Click on "Troubleshoot"
Make sure that the hardware acceleration cursor is set to full. - If you have additional tabs for your graphics card's settings (such as OpenGL or Direct3D), check those tabs to make sure that Anti-Aliasing and Anisotropic Filtering are set to "Application Preference" or "Let the application decide"
Next, check that you have the required graphic capabilities. Your display adapter must support DirectDraw Acceleration (not just DirectDraw), and it is advisable to have the latest version of DirectX when attempting to run this game. Not all computers come with graphics cards that support the graphics functions being used by our Windows games (and many other games). To check that you have the proper graphic support and to verify that your adapter is set and operating properly, follow this procedure:
- Click on the Start Menu, and select "Run"
- Type "dxdiag" in the
Run window and click OK (or press Enter)
- Check near the bottom of the window on that first screen (the System tab) to
make sure that you have the required version of DirectX. The current version at this time is 9.0c, and can be obtained easily
by using the Windows Update function
- Next, select the Display tab in the DirectX Diagnostic Tool window that
opens.
- Check that the function "DirectDraw Acceleration" is enabled ("Direct3D" and "APG" are not required, but they
may also be supported by your system). Also check the "Notes" window near the bottom of that window to make sure that it says
"No problems found." You may also, if desired, test DirectDraw using the button provided on that screen.
- While you're
on that screen, check your display adapter's driver date. If it's very old, you should probably consider updating your driver.
Most manufacturers supply driver updates through their support structure.
- Restart your computer, if instructed to do so.
Your display adapter must support those functions, and they must be enabled, for the games to work on your computer.
Finally, check that your computer's color bit depth is set appropriately. Depending on the size of your display adapter's Video Memory (VRAM), setting a high screen resolution can lower the color bit depth to a setting that isn't compatible with our games. You can check your display settings on the "Display" tab of dxdiag (see the above procedure, and look for "Current Display Mode:"). Your color bit depth should be set to the highest setting supported by your computer. If in doubt, you should follow this procedure:
- Close open applications (you may have to restart your computer at
the end of this procedure) so that you can see your Windows desktop
- Right click on the Windows desktop (make sure
you're not on an application icon)
- Select "Properties" from the popup menu (at the bottom)
- Click the
"Settings" tab at the far right of the Display Properties window
- Look at the "Colors" setting in the lower left
portion of the window
- You should set it to the highest setting supported on your computer.
- Click "Apply"
- If asked to restart your computer, Click OK
- Try running the game again
- If it still won't run, try lowering your display resolution and set the highest color bit depth again. You can again verify the settings in dxdiag.
Some applications (particularly children's games) can only run in 256-color mode, and they can (and do) change the color bit depth to 256 colors. So even if you don't normally run your PC in that mode, make sure that it hasn't been left in that state by another application.
If you determine that your computer does not have the capability to run the game, and you have already purchased it, please contact your place of purchase to request a refund. If you purchased the game directly from LDW (www.ldw.com or www.virtualvillagers.com), you may request a refund within 48 HOURS of your initial purchase by submitting our customer support form (click "No," below), making sure that you provide the following information:
- Your full name
- The email address that you used to make the purchase
- Title of the game for which you are requesting a refund
- The order number you received at the time of purchase
- The reason you are requesting a refund
Please note that we review refund requests on a case-by-case basis, and refunds are not automatically granted.
If you purchased the game from a game site other than LDW, you will need to contact support at the site where you made your purchase for assistance with your request. We cannot process cancellations or refunds for purchases made on other game sites. For help with determining where you purchased the game, please click the link below for assistance.
How to find out where you purchased Windows or Mac versions of our games.
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