Shady Brook Support:

Error - I'm right near the end of the game about to fight Curly a second time, but cannot proceed because there isn't any place on the screen that is clickable.  Help!
Solution - There is a patch available to fix this error.  To download the patch (120 kb), please click here.  Alternately, you can manually turn off Adventure Only Mode.  The downside is that you will have to play through the final action sequence.  However, if you cannot get the patch to work, then this is the best way to go.  To turn off Adventure Only Mode, follow these steps:
1.  Open your saved game file in Notepad.  Your saved game file is in the game's folder (Program Files\Shady Brook\ by default) and is named SavedGameName.sav (where SavedGameName is replaced by the name you typed in for your saved game).
2.  Near the top, you will see a line that reads "Adventure Only Mode".  Below this is the number 1.  Change this 1 to a 0 and save the game.
You can then play the game as normal!

Error - Shady Brook won’t install or play on my system.
Solution - Shady Brook is an older game and will not work on Windows Vista or 7.

Error - My disc drive will not read the DVD.
Explanation - Shady Brook requires a DVD-R-capable DVD player to work.

Problem - My DVD says that the game is compatible with Windows XP only.  On your site it says that the game will run on Windows 98, 2000, ME, and XP.  Can you please explain this?
Solution - This is a misprint on the DVD.  Shady Brook is fully compatible with Windows 98, 2000, ME, and XP.

Error - Certain scenes take a long time to load and/or characters appear in a scene a few seconds after the scene itself appears.
Solution - Some video files are read off of the DVD.  On slower systems, it may take a few seconds for these videos to load.  If you would like, you can copy the entire contents of the game to your hard drive to speed up gameplay.  Please note, however, that doing so will take up approximately 3.5 GB of hard drive space.  To do this, follow these steps:
1.  Open Windows Explorer.
2.  Copy all files on the DVD to the Program Files\Shady Brook\ folder (or whichever alternate folder to which you installed the game), placing each file in the same folder name on your hard drive as it is in on the DVD drive.  For instance, all files in the Frames folder on the DVD drive should go in the Program Files\Shady Brook\Frames folder on your hard drive.
3.  In the Program Files\Shady Brook\ folder, rename RunFromCD.dat to RunFromCD.old (or rename it to any other name).
4.  Run the game.  The DVD will not need to be in the drive, and the slowness should disappear!

Error - Video sequences don't play, I can hear the audio of the sequence but see no visuals, or I receive the following error when a movie sequence is about to play:  Error while attempting to play the following video file: <filename.avi>. Automation Error. Unspecified Error.
Solution - Shady Brook requires the Xvid video codec to play.  When installing Shady Brook, you are asked if you want to install the codec.  Uninstall Shady Brook and reinstall it, choosing YES when asked to install the Xvid codec.  If you already have the Xvid codec installed, then a possible conflict may occur if you also have DivX installed on your system.  If this is the case:  uninstall DivX, uninstall Xvid, uninstall Shady Brook, restart your computer, and then reinstall Shady Brook and Xvid.  Your problem should be solved!

Error - The game's sound is garbled, dialog is missing or gets cut off, or I receive an error message saying that my audio card is already in use by another application, even though nothing else is open.
Explanation #1 - Certain sound cards that are built into a computer processor are incapable of playing multiple tracks of audio at once.  As a result, when two applications both attempt to use the sound card at the same time, a crash results.  Currently, the only known sound card that is incompatible with Shady Brook is the SoundMax brand of card.  Unfortunately, there is no known fix at this time.  As a result, we have listed the SoundMax sound card as incompatible in the system requirements of Shady Brook.
Explanation #2 - Make sure that your system meets the minimum requirements for Shady Brook.  Low-end systems may experience garbled audio.

Error - Certain puzzles do not appear, are not playable, or do not play properly.

Solution - A handful of puzzles in the game use Adobe Flash.  If you are having trouble getting certain puzzles to work, then you simply need to install the Adobe Flash player, which is completely free and available via download here.

Error - I receive the following error message:  Error executing script. Make sure that the global variables do not have names that are reserved by the engine. The Scripting Engine returned the following error message: Invalid character.
Solution - Your PC’s native language is not English.  This can cause a conflict with Lifestream's scripting engine.  To fix the problem, switch the native language to English.

Error - When video sequences play, they appear either darker than the game itself or extremely bright.
Solution - On some systems (mostly nVida-based cards), DirectX (a vital Windows component) interferes with the Xvid codec, which drives this game's video sequences.  As a result, the video sequences appear either a shade or two darker or much brighter than the rest of the game.  To solve this, follow these steps:
1. Right click on your desktop and choose PROPERTIES.
2. Choose the SETTINGS tab.
3. Click the ADVANCED button.
4. Choose the tab that lists your graphics card.
5. On the left, choose COLOR CORRECTION.
6. On the Color Correction page, click on the dropdown box right below the words "Apply color changes to:". Choose Overlay.
7. Click the RESTORE DEFAULTS button.
8. Go to the dropdown box again and switch it to ALL. Your screen will turn super bright.
9. Click the RESTORE DEFAULTS button once again.
10. Click APPLY and then click the OK button.

Error - The background music is too loud, and I cannot hear what characters are saying!
Solution - On some systems, this has been known to occur.  To fix it, follow these steps:
1.  Open your computer's Control Panel.  This can be accessed by going to the Start Menu, choosing Settings, and then choosing Control Panel.
2.  Choose Sounds and Audio Devices.  Double-click to open that window.
3.  Click the Audio tab.
4.  Click the Advanced button in the Audio Playback category.
5.  Click the Performance tab.
6.  Change the Hardware Acceleration tab to Basic.
7.  Click OK.
8.  Restart your computer.
After this, the volume should work properly!  Please note that, after finishing the game, you may want to change the Hardware Acceleration tab back to what it was prior to making this change.