FORLENZASTEIN

Q. What do I need to run FORLENZASTEIN?

Not much at all! The demo has been tested and verified on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. You'll want a VGA-class display and a keyboard (a mouse is optional, for firing). A Sound Blaster–compatible sound card is recommended for the music and effects, but is not required. No 3-D accelerator card is needed — the whole 3-D view is drawn in software.

Q. Where is the installer? Do I need DirectX or any extra runtime?

None of the above! FORLENZASTEIN is a single self-contained .exe. There is no setup program, no CD-ROM, no runtime to install, and no extra files to copy alongside it. Just put FORLE.EXE wherever you like and run it. It uses only the graphics and window features built into Windows itself.

Q. How do I start the game once I've downloaded it?

Find FORLE.EXE wherever you saved it and double-click it. The game opens in its own 960×720 window with the title screen. Press ENTER to begin. See the How To Play page for the full control scheme.

Q. The game seems to run too fast (or too slow) on my machine.

Movement is timed to real seconds, so it should feel the same on a fast or a slow PC. If the picture looks choppy, close other programs to free up the processor — remember, every frame is rendered entirely on the CPU. Running it in a window (the default) is lighter than other display modes.

Q. I'm not getting any sound.

FORLENZASTEIN plays background music and sound effects through a Sound Blaster–compatible sound card. First, check your speakers are on and the volume is up. Then make sure you haven't muted the game by accident — press M in-game to toggle the sound back on. If you have no sound card at all, the game still runs perfectly well in silence.

Q. My virus scanner warned me about the file.

Some scanners are suspicious of any small, unknown shareware program they haven't catalogued yet — this is a "false positive." The download contains no installer and writes nothing to your system; it simply runs and quits. If you're ever unsure, download a fresh copy straight from this page.

Q. How do I get the full version?

You're playing the free shareware demo — Episode 1. The full game with additional levels is in the works. Keep an eye on this page, sign the guestbook, and we'll announce ordering details right here when it's ready. Thanks for playing!