Chalk House Demo

Welcome to the Chalk House Demo page. This demo will walk you through the basics of how Chalk House works and can be used in a classroom. This demo is not the actual Chalk House game; instead, it is prequel to the story. The demo places you in the role of a local police officer investigating the disappearance of a local reporter.

The demo is intended to provide you with an understanding of how the game works. The demo takes about 15 minutes complete.

When you are ready, follow the steps below to

1. setting up an account or logging in with your demo account,
2. downloading the demo software, and
3. useful information of tutorials, toubleshooting, etc

To be able to download the Chalk House Demo either 1) click on Create an Account or use your Existing Account to Login. If you don't remember what your account or password is, you can use the forgotten password request below.

You must either create an account or login using an existing demo account to be able to download the demo.

Tutorials

A tutorial on how to install the Demo.

Quick Start

1. Download the PC or Mac version of the client (above).
2. PC Users - run the application downloaded
3. Mac Users - Open the DMG (Disk Image) and drag the Client folder to your desktop
4. Run the Chalk House Application
5. Select the Display Settings (Default: 800x600, 32bpp, 0hz, LWJGL, Window Mode, Leave full screen unchecked), Press Okay
6. The server will then ask you to login. Use the login and password you were given.
7. You should then be placed within the Chalk House environment

Quick Troubleshooting

If you are running a virus scanner, the initial load time will be increased (as much as a minute or more) as the scanner reads in all the contents of the game for viruses. An indication of this happening is that your harddrive is in constant use when the software is started. Normally, the login lobby loads within 15-20secs after selecting Okay on the initial screen setting dialog window.

If the client begins, but the client quits or presents a black screen after the Display Settings, refer to the troubleshooting page on your video adapter. Most likely you don't have a 3d graphics driver installed. NOTE: We have had some issues with 64-bit Vista locking up at this point and we are working on it. If you are using 64-bit VISTA and have a problem or not, please let us know.

If you are having problems with audio either hearing or talking, refer to the troubleshooting page.

If you get a message saying you cannot connect, refer to the troubleshooting page. Most likey you have 1) no Internet connection (try to get to a web page) or 2) an firewall problem either internal or external.

Troubleshooting

Networking | Video Issues | Audio Issues

Networking Issues

When you get this error, it indicates that you are not able to connect to the server. Check your Internet connection. This is done by checking a web page with your browser.

Norton Firewall (PC). If you can connect to the Internet with your web browser and you have Norton Firewall then you need to check Norton Firewall. By default, Norton Firewall will block access by the Sun JAVA application to the Internet. The following flash presenation shows how to configure Norton Firewall to allow Java to access to the Internet. Flash Example of configuring Norton Firewall.

Video Issues

If you have a recent graphics card (since 2001), then the problem is driver related. Commonly found cards that work with our software include Nvida Geforce series and the ATI RADEON series. Download the latest driver for your video card. If it is recommended to download drivers, you may have to search through the manufacturer's web site until you can locate the correct driver.

If you have never done a driver install ask for help from someone with more experience.

Finding Your Graphics Adapter Manufacturer

Windows XP Graphics Adapter (212k)

Once you have located the Manufacturer, check the following sites to download the latest drivers for your OS.

Video Board Manufacturers NVIDIA ATI (Radeon video boards) ATI Rage (Laptops) ASUS Creative Leadtek Matrox

ATI Rage Pro Graphics Card on a Laptop

User that use the ATI Rage Pro on a laptop should visit the laptop manufacturers web page to locate a graphics driver. There are issues with finding drivers for the ATI Rage Pro that support 3D graphics correctly.

Audio Issues

Goto START:Settings:Control Panel:Sounds and Multimedia. Select one of the sounds and press the small PLAY button to the left of the Browser button. You should be able to hear sound. If this doesn't work, then you need to troubleshoot your computer to get sound working. Refer to your Windows OS troubleshooting steps. Are your speakers plugged in? Do you have your audio muted?

No Transmit Audio?

Check to make sure your mic is plugged into the correct input. You might have a jack in the front and one on the back. Try both. You can select which is in the control panel (see below).

Check to make sure your mic works.

Can you record audio in your system?

Goto START:Programs:Accessories:Entertainment:Sound Recorder. See if you can record (press the record button and talk into your mic) and then play your audio back. Is your mic turned on? Plugged in? Do you have more than one input mic port to use ?

Multiple Sound Cards in Single Machine

The main problem with multiple sound cards is to be sure you have your mic and speakers pluged into the correct jacks. If you have more than one audio device, the sound system will sometimes fail to recognize the best software for the music system. You may be able to disable one of the devices in the Device Manager and/or create a hardware profile that accomplishes the same thing. Some machines have onboard-integrated audio that can be disabled from the BIOS.

Specific Audio Guides

Windows XP Troubleshooting Audio (5.4M)