No matter what you may have heard, there are currently no official plans for a sequel or a prequel. Notice, however, that we just used the word "currently". In other words, this could change soon! There are certainly more tales to be told of the twin worlds of Stark and Arcadia, and there are a lot of unanswered questions regarding April's future, so there's always the possibility that the story will continue at some point in the not-too-distant future.

If that sounds vague, then good: It's supposed to.

To help us decide whether or not we should make a sequel, drop us a note and let us know you really, really want one!

Q Is The Longest Journey available for the Mac?

No. It would take a lot of work to convert TLJ to the Mac, and since Mac games unfortunately don't sell a lot, we're not going to do it.

If you're a Mac owner and you're desperate to play TLJ, and you don't mind investing some time and effort experimenting, it is possible (in theory) to play TLJ through a Windows emulator on your Mac (like Virtual PC 4.0), although we don't necessarily recommend it. It would probably be really slow, and the game might be quite unstable. If you're particularly unlucky, it might not work at all. And please don't ask us for help regarding how to do this. We have no way of testing the game on a Mac, so you're on your own! Sorry.

Q I can't find The Longest Journey anywhere. How do I purchase it online?

Funcom is now selling English-language copies of TLJ via our official The Longest Journey website. Check http://www.longestjourney.com and look for the 'Buy The Longest Journey Online' link in the bottom right corner. You can choose to buy from the USA, or from the UK.

Funcom is also selling the Norwegian version of TLJ via our website. To purchase other local versions of TLJ (e.g. French, German), please contact a local vendor.

The North American (US and Canada) version of TLJ is now available in stores everywhere, including Software Etc., Babbages, EBX, CompUSA, Media Play, and others. It's also possible to purchase this version from a number of online stores. Shop around!

Q Is the North American version different from the other English-speaking versions?

There are no major differences between the US/Canadian version of TLJ, and the two separate English-speaking versions published by Empire and Funcom respectively. However, we have fixed some minor bugs, altered the launcher to work correctly under Windows 2000, and updated the readme.txt and FAQ files on the discs. No language has been censored, and thus the North American version carries a Mature rating (17 and up) for adult language.

Q Is The Longest Journey available in my language?

In addition to the original English-language version, TLJ has been translated to and published in Norwegian, Swedish, French, Dutch, and German. Spanish and Polish language versions will be available soon. There's also an Italian version with English speech and Italian subtitles in production.

To procure a localised version of TLJ, please contact a vendor close to you, or the respective publisher.

Q Will there be a DVD version of The Longest Journey?

In France, there's already a "special edition" of TLJ available on DVD (in French, of course). If there's enough demand, we may decide to do DVD versions for other markets, including North America, but nothing has been decided yet. If and when we do decide to make a DVD version, we'll post the relevant information on our official site.

Technical Issues

Before writing us asking for technical assistance - with crashes, installation problems, and incompatibility issues - please read through this FAQ as well as the ReadMe.txt file that came with your game CDs. The ReadMe in particular contains lots of helpful information on well-known hardware problems. If you still can't solve the problem, please write us, and remember to include information on your computer, installation size, what version you're playing (American, French, Norwegian, etc.), as well as a detailed description of your specific problem. We'll do our very best to provide you with a timely and helpful response!

Q Help, I'm experiencing a lot of st-st-stuttering sound! How can I fix this?

Ah, yes, this particular problem seems to be affecting a few people. Unfortunately, there's no one obvious solution to the problem, so you're going to have to experiment using the following suggestions:

First of all, make sure there are no other applications running in the background, such as a virus checker or an MP3 player.

There might be a problem with your hard disk, like faulty sectors, or fragmentation. Run a thorough error-check on your hard disk in Windows, and de-fragment it. For instructions, consult your Windows help-function.

Check that you've installed the latest version of DirectX (the version included with your TLJ game CD might be the buggy version 7.0, in which case you should download 8.0 or later from Microsoft!), as well as the most recently updated drivers for your video card, sound card, and CD-ROM drive. Refer to your computer's instruction manual for information on how to update your drivers.

If you haven't used the maximum allowable installation for the game, try reinstalling using as much hard-disk space as possible. This will also cut down on loading time.

In the set-up dialogue that appears every time you start the game, click the "Advanced" button. You'll get access to a number of sliders that give you control over how the game handles the sound. Try changing the settings (make a note of what you change before you change it!), and start the game. If you get less stuttering, you're on the right track. Consult the readme.txt file that accompanied the game for more information on what the sliders mean. Keep experimenting.

If you're using Windows 95, and an AGP video card, please make sure that you've installed the USB update to enable AGP support in Windows. This patch is available from Microsoft. However, if your version of Windows 95 is 95a, you will need to upgrade your operating system to Windows 98, Windows 2000 or Windows: ME. Version 95a does not support AGP.

You may experience stuttering sound on slow PCs, or with hardware that doesn't meet the minimum requirements. If your computer doesn't comply with the minimum requirements for the game, there may be no other way to fix the problem than to upgrade your hardware. Please contact your PC vendor with any questions regarding upgrading your hardware. Also be aware that the minimum specifications only apply to Intel Pentium processors; if you're using an AMD processor, for example, a higher clock-speed (in other words, a faster processor) may be required to run the game smoothly.

Don't try this unless you know what you're doing: Go into your BIOS settings (consult your system manual to see how) and set the Video BIOS Shadow to "off".

If none of these suggestions do anything to alleviate the problem, please let us know.

Q Does The Longest Journey work with Windows 2000?

Yes. While TLJ does not work under previous versions of Windows NT, Windows 2000 supports DirectX 7a, so TLJ should work just fine. However, if your version of TLJ was released prior to the North American version, the auto run function may not work correctly. If that's the case, explore the TLJ CD and run the setup.exe file manually. The same may apply to running the game; if the launcher doesn't appear, or if it crashes, try double-clicking the game.exe file in the installed directory to launch the game manually.

We've also noticed that the "smooth edges on screen fonts" function under display properties may cause problems. Disable this if you're experiencing visual glitches.

Q I have a Voodoo 2 card, and the game looks terrible. What's wrong?

You're using an incompatible driver. Unfortunately, we can't really tell you which driver to use, since your card may differ from ours (there are lots of different Voodoo 2 cards). Contact the manufacturer to receive the latest drivers for your Voodoo 2 based video-card.

Q My copy of CD number (1-4) doesn't work! Help!

It is possible that you will have to return the game. However, before returning the game please make sure that there is a problem with your CD(s). A common misunderstanding is that, after choosing Minimum Installation, the installation utility will ask for CD #4 immediately after copying CD #1, and not CD #2. This is supposed to happen! Please follow the on-screen instructions correctly. If, by mistake, you do insert CD #2 at this point, the utility will simply reject the CD. The other three installation sizes require all four CDs.

Unfortunately, there seems to be a manufacturing problem with a small number of the North American CDs. Some discs may be blank, or report read-errors, while others may contain files that are completely unrelated to the game. This is a factory problem, and not a software bug! If this is the case with your copy of the game, please do the following: Send us an e-mail containing specific information on where you bought the game (name of store, state, country), and the serial number on the CD that is malfunctioning. Contact the place of purchase immediately for a replacement copy of the game. If you bought the game online, you should be able to procure replacement discs from the online vendor. We're sorry, but Funcom can not send you a replacement copy: This is a factory- and distribution-related problem.

Q Why does the game keep crashing randomly?

It shouldn't. On most systems, TLJ is very stable. However, there are a couple of things that may make the game unstable. First of all, don't run any other programs while you're playing TLJ - and that includes Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, and various MP3 players. The less memory (RAM) you have in your system, the more important it is to keep your system "clean". Second, make sure there's enough free hard-drive space on your C: drive, because this is usually the drive Windows uses for swapping files to and from memory. You should try to have at least 100MB of free space before attempting to run TLJ.

Q Video playback is very choppy. How do I solve this?

You may be trying to run high-quality videos on a system that is unable to keep up with the requirements for this option. Go into the Game Settings screen and uncheck the "High Quality Videos" option, then restart the game. If this doesn't work, make sure you're not running any other programs whilst playing TLJ, and that your computer meets the minimum requirements listed on the box.

Q The game crashes at the very beginning, right after the bit with the old woman.

Try the following (restart the game after each change, and try playing, before making any further changes): In the Game Settings menu, uncheck the "High Quality Videos" checkbox. In the advanced start-up dialogue, disable hardware 3D acceleration. If you've just played another game prior to playing TLJ, reboot your PC before running TLJ - if the first game used the same video "codec" as TLJ (Bink), there may be a system conflict that can only be resolved by rebooting.

Q There are no characters, or just parts and pieces of characters, on-screen, but I can still see the backgrounds. Huh?

If you're using a Voodoo 2 card, see above. If not, try one of the following solutions: In the advanced start-up dialogue, check the "Force Single Buffer" option. In the Game Settings, uncheck the "Shadows" box. If you're still having trouble, try disabling 3D hardware acceleration, again in the advanced start-up dialogue.

Q I've installed the game, and tried to run it, but I see absolutely nothing (or at least nothing resembling a game). Can you help me?

We'll certainly try. There may be several reasons why you're having graphics-related problems with TLJ. Try the following suggestions, and contact us if none of these help.

Disable 3D hardware acceleration in the start-up dialogue (uncheck the box called "Enable 3D acceleration").

If you've tried to run the game in 32-bit colour depth, set it to 16-bit colour depth (in the start-up dialogue), or vice versa.

Check if your monitor is set to a proper refresh-rate in 640 by 480 mode, using Window's Display Properties (right-click your desktop, and choose "Properties"), under "Settings".

Download and install the latest version of DirectX (currently 8.0) from Microsoft.

Reinstall the latest drivers for your video-card. Some cards require a reinstallation of drivers after updating DirectX.

Try installing an older set of drivers for your video-card. New drivers are sometimes buggy or incompatible with certain software.

If none of these suggestions make any difference, write our support department. Please include information on your system and video-card, and tell us if you hear any music and/or sound effects when the game starts.

Q I get a strange error-message. What's up with that?

If, at any point, you get an error-message which looks like this one (note that the exact name of the .sss file may differ):

File : D:\ra\engine03\DX_Module\VisSmackStream.cpp
Line 487
Error msg : Could not load Smacker Animation
C:\Program Files\TLJ\2d\00\xarc\010d01.sss (SmackOpen() Failed)

...it means that a .sss file (a so-called Smacker animation file) has been corrupted. You will need to fix this. Try the following solutions: Run scandisk (consult Windows help to see how) and have Windows fix any problems found. Manually copy the damaged .sss file from CD #4 to the TLJ directory on your hard-drive, or reinstall TLJ if you don't know how to do that last step. Don't worry; unless you agree to have them removed, your save-games will remain intact.

Q When I start the game, I'm told that my soundcard isn't certified for Direct Sound. What gives?

Don't worry. In most cases, you can play anyway. Just ignore the message, and the game should still work fine, although you may experience some skipping sound. If the game still refuses to run, however, there are a few things you should check: Did you install the latest version of DirectX (currently 8.0)? If not, do so now, and then download and install the latest drivers for your soundcard. Some cards require the drivers to be (re)installed after installing DirectX. If you're still having trouble, try contacting the manufacturer of your soundcard - there may be incompatibility issues that we're not aware of. Last but not least, are you certain your soundcard is DirectX certified? If you have an old soundcard, it may not be, and you may have to upgrade to a newer soundcard.

If all else fails, send us e-mail. We'll try to help you out the best we can!

Game-play Issues

The following are solutions to some of the puzzles and game-play issues that players seem to have trouble with. This is not a walkthrough! If you're stuck somewhere in the game, and there's no help to be found in this FAQ, please try either the TLJ bulletin board on our official site (http://www.longestjourney.com), the End of the Journey fan-site (http://tlj.adventuregamer.com) or the PC adventure-game newsgroup on Usenet (http://www.deja.com/group/comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.adventure). There are currently no official hint-books available, but there are quite a few free walkthroughs on the Internet. We've listed a couple of the English-language links here, for your convenience, but we do suggest you try solving the puzzles yourself first - it's more fun that way:

End of the Journey - http://tlj.adventuregamer.com/walkthrough/index.php

Adventure Gamer - http://www.adventuregamer.com/guides/longest_journey.shtml

Computer Games Online - http://www.cdmag.com/Home/home.html?article=/articles/029/092/tlj1_tips.html

Universal Hint Systems - http://www.uhs-hints.com/uhsweb/tlj.php

Q How do I get the iron key up from the subway track in Chapter Two?

You should have a rubber ducky and a clamp in your inventory already. If not, look around and come back later! Now, examine the rubber ducky (look at it), and remove the band-aid. Do the following as quickly as possible (you'll only have a few seconds to do it): Make sure the ducky is inflated (if it's not, inflate it by using the mouth-icon on it). Combine the clamp and the clothesline, and then the rubber ducky. The ducky will keep the clamp open as long as it's inflated, and the clothesline will let you "fish" the key up from the tracks using this makeshift tool.

Q Nope, doesn't work. April keeps telling me she can't reach the key. What gives?

It could be one of two things: most likely, you haven't combined the items properly, or you've waited too long and the air ran out of the rubber ducky; however, you may also have encountered a rare, but nasty, bug that prevents April from getting any further. Did one of the three items disappear - rope, rubber ducky or clamp? If so, restore a saved game prior to combining the three items. Go into the inventory and, as before, combine the three items exactly as described above. Now try again. Make sure there's still air in the rubber ducky, and that you've already looked at the sparks on the subway track!

Q What do I have to do to the shadow in the alley behind Mercury Theater?

You've probably noticed that the shadow slightly resembles a man with a gun. Put the fedora (the detective's hat) on top of the garbage heap to complete the picture. The shadow should now look quite threatening!

Q How do I shake up the can of Bingo Cola?

Place the can in the paint-shaker outside Burns Flipper's garage, turn it on, and voila; one incredibly volatile soda can.

Q How do I get a hold of Minnelli's glass eye?

Make sure you've exhausted all dialogue options, as well as taken a look behind the broken mirror in his locker. Now, when he drops his eye, exchange it with the monkey's eye. You do have the monkey's eye, right? If not, return to Mercury Theater to pick it up.

Q I'm not able to get the bird in Chapter Four. What should I do?

There are a lot of people you need to speak with first. If you haven't done so yet, go have a chat with Tobias, Brian Westhouse, Abnaxus, Yerin (you'll need to do some reading as well in the library), Captain Nebevay and the old sailor. Once you've made a deal with the old sailor to get his bird Bird back, you can pick the feathery creature up as a prize after winning a game of cups.

If you're still stuck, keep in mind that you'll need to see some people twice! Make sure that Mr. Westhouse has told you about a people with wings who tell stories, and that you've asked Yerin to see the appropriate books after visiting everyone else and learning what you can from those conversations. Specifically, you'll need to read about the island of Alais before moving on.

Just so you know, you can't get the bird before Chapter Four!

Q In Roper Klacks' spell book, there's a missing page. Where is it?

First off, you'll need to make the invisibility potion. The ingredients (and the correct order you need to put them in the cauldron) are printed in Klacks' book, but in case you're wondering, the correct combination is white, plus green, plus blue.

Now, armed with the invisibility potion (don't use it quite yet, however), go back down to the labyrinth and find the mirror door with the parchment in front of it. Drink the potion, grab the parchment, and go back upstairs.

Q How do I get the red essence in Klacks' laboratory?

You'll need to make yourself as light as a leaf by way of a magic potion. The spell book should now be whole again (if not, see above), and the instructions are listed in there. Again, if you're unsure about the correct combination, it's yellow, plus white, plus blue.

Drink the potion, feel the pounds drop off, and grab the red essence from the top shelf.

Q I can't wake up the sleeping giant. What am I doing wrong?

This is a tough puzzle, since you'll have to set all the "telephones" to the correct transmitter and receiver "frequencies". Visit the large head at the base of the mountain to find the symbol associated with each statue, and make sure the signal travels as follows: From the statue by the Mother Tree to the statue above the crab's village, to the statue amongst the ruins, and, finally, to the big head. Now, talk into the statue by the Mother Tree.

Q I've been reading a walkthrough, and I know I need a pizza box, but I can't find it! Where is it?

It should be in the trashcan in the mall. However, it'll only be available after you've visited Burns Flipper and given him the ancient star map to analyse.

Q Where's the oxygen filter?

You'll need to get into the cargo area. Order the guard in that section away from his post, go to the cargo area, and access the computer. Search for the item, and the computer should tell you where it is. Now, just have a look around the place until you find it.

Known Bugs

Q The game keeps crashing outside the police station when I walk from one location to the next. How do I fix this?

Unfortunately, your particular video-card probably has trouble with a 3D animation in this scene. Try disabling 3D acceleration (uncheck the "Enable 3D acceleration" checkbox) when starting the game. If that doesn't work, there's a patch available for download from our official web site, and this patch has also been included on the US/Canadian release CDs: It's located on Disc One, under the "Station_fix" directory. Do NOT run this patch unless your game crashes on this location! This patch doesn't fix anything else!

There's also a way to avoid the problem altogether - the following information does contain a spoiler, so beware:

To get into the police station, move the barrier from the road and get into the garbage container. You'll now skip the troublesome location altogether.

Q The game crashes in Florence Park. Is there any way to fix this?

Certainly. If you're one of the unlucky few to experience this bug, fret not; it's avoidable. Before entering the park, save your game, exit, and restart. Now, before clicking Play, uncheck the "Enable 3D Acceleration" checkbox. The game will not utilize the advanced 3D features of your video-card, but neither will it crash. Remember to reactive 3D acceleration after leaving the park!

Q April keeps telling me she can't reach the key on the subway tracks no matter what I do. What gives?

Chances are you haven't combined the rope, rubber ducky and clamp correctly, or that the rubber ducky has run out of air. Try again. However, if you're quite sure you've done everything right, you may have found a nasty little bug that prevents April from getting any further. This bug is related to the rubber ducky, and may cause the ducky (or the rope) to disappear permanently, thus making it impossible to fish up the key. If this happens to you, restore a saved game prior to combining the three items (rubber ducky, clamp, clothesline). Go into the inventory, combine the clamp with the clothesline, remove the band-aid from the rubber ducky, and use the ducky with the clamp/clothesline object. Now try fishing up the subway-key again.

We don't seem to be able to reproduce this bug on our test-systems, and have thus not been able to create a patch to fix the problem. Sorry.

We've been getting e-mail from players who believe they're stuck because of this bug, but it turns out they're not. Unless you're absolutely sure that one of the three items has disappeared permanently from your inventory, don't restore an earlier save-game: you're more likely just doing things the wrong way round.

As far as we know, there are no other game-play bugs in the English-speaking versions of TLJ! If you're stuck somewhere, it's probably because you're missing an item, haven't talked to someone important, or neglected an important clue! Ask us for help, look for a walkthrough, or (even better) keep playing until you've solved the puzzle!