[Igor - The Time Machine]
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The toughest challenge this side of the galaxy
[Igor being chased] [Elmer Productions logo]
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

This FAQ will give you the answers to the questions that are asked most frequently about Igor. Please read the list of questions to see if your problem is here. Each question will link you directly to its answer. Also be aware that a question that is worded differently or describes a related problem might also solve yours.

Answers to general questions

  • Can I download a free demo version of Igor?
    Yes. Go to the download page.

  • Does Igor also play Sokoban-type levels?
    Yes. You can use the level convertor to convert most Sokoban levels to Igor format. You can also create your own Sokoban-type levels. Just use the Power source and Power socket objects as 'boxes' and 'destinations'. Of course you can combine these with the other objects that Igor provides to create the most difficult levels ever! More information on how Igor handles Sokoban-type levels can be found here.

  • Who made this game (credits)?
    The credits can be found in various places. If you have the full version, the credits are listed in the paper documentation. In the game itself you can click on the 'credits' option in the main menu, and they are also available in the electronic documentation included with the game. But the people who helped never get enough of their names mentioned, so you can also view the credits online.

Answers to questions about installation

Answers to questions about graphics/video

  • When I start the game, the screen goes funny or my monitor blanks out or turns to standby.
    This is most likely caused by using a video mode your videocard can handle, but your monitor can't. Run Igor in safe mode (an icon is provided for this in the program group in the start menu where you installed the game), go to the configuration screen, and change the screen mode to 640x480. Save the settings and exit the game. When you run Igor normally again (i.e. not in safe mode) it should work properly. If you still have problems while running Igor in 640x480 mode, make sure you are using the latest drivers for your videocard (contact the manufacturer of your videocard for updated drivers).

  • During gameplay, sometimes the mouse cursor disappears, sprites are shown as black squares or other strange things happen to the graphics.
    This can be caused by faulty DirectX drivers. Make sure you have the latest version of DirectX installed (see http://www.microsoft.com/directx) and that your graphics drivers are certified. Alternatively, you can try setting the graphics accelleration to minimum. In Windows 98 you can do this by clicking on Settings -> Control Panel from your start menu. In the control panel, double-click on 'Display' and another window will pop-up. Activate the 'settings' tab and click on the 'Advanced...' button near the bottom of the window. In the window that pops up, select the 'Performance' tab and set the 'Hardware acceleration' to 'None'. For other Windows versions, please refer to your manuals for exact information. Please note that this solution may cause the game to slow down considerably.

  • The mouse cursor moves slowly and intermittently.
    You are probably running an application in the background that keeps asking for attention (for example an mp3-player). Please close all applications running in the background and try again. It might also be due to limited functionality of your graphics card. Make sure Igor is running in the lowest resolution it supports (640x480) and try switchting off the sound effects and music.

  • When I play the game, the graphics are extremely slow and not smooth at all.
    Recent NVidia display drivers are known to have very bad 2D graphics performance and most likely Igor is suffering from that. We have confirmed this problem with at least Detonator drivers version 43.45 and 43.51. These drivers may be used on your machine if you use any graphics card based on an NVidia chip (for example any Geforce chip). If you experience bad graphics performance and have an NVidia-based graphics card, you should try installing either older or newer drivers. The latest (currently 44.03) may solve the problem. You can download these from the Nvidia website. Please contact us if you have this problem, and let us know what Detonator drivers you use and the brandname and model of your videocard.

Answers to questions about music

  • The music played in the game contains pops and clicks sometimes.
    This is most likely because Digital playback is enabled for the CD-drive in Windows. You can try disabling it, but depending on your system configuration you might not hear any CD-audio at all anymore (if that happens, just re-enable digital playback). Instructions to disable it are given below, but depending on your Windows version it might be slightly different for you (if so, consult your Windows manuals).
    1. Open the Windows Explorer and click with the right mouse button on the CD-drive in question and choose 'Properties'.
    2. In the dialog that pops up, select the 'Hardware' tab, find your CD-drive again (it is most likely not the one selected by default) and click on 'Properties'.
    3. In the dialog that pops up, select the 'Properties' tab, and make sure 'Enable digital CD audio for this CD-ROM device' is not checked.


  • When I exit the game, the CD music keeps playing, but the game does not return the screen to the desktop.
    It may take a few seconds for the music to stop and the desktop to return after the game finishes. If it takes longer, open the CD drive by pressing the eject button. This will force the music to stop playing, and the game will exit properly.

  • I would like to let my own music-CD play during Igor, however the game does not seem to do anything with the CD.
    If the Igor CD is found in one of your CD-ROM drives when starting (or after a change in configuration), that drive is used to play music. You should then use that drive only for music CDs that should be played by Igor. If the Igor CD is not found in any drive when starting, the first CD-drive in the system will be used. You should then use that drive for the CD you want to play.
    It is possible that, after changing the CD, you have to wait a bit before the music starts. If the CD still isn't running after about a minute, and you have multiple CD-drives in your system, you can try using a different drive.
    Also note that the 'autorun' feature in Windows can interfere with Igor when you swap a CD while playing (since the autorun application may claim access to the CD-drive).

Answers to questions while playing

  • The game runs very slowly.
    There are several ways to increase game performance on slow machines:
    • First of all, make sure that no other applications are running in the background while you are playing Igor, as this can degrade performance considerably.
    • Make sure you are using the latest video and sound drivers provided by the manufacturer of your videocard and soundcard.
    • Make sure you are running Igor in 640x480 resolution. You can check this from the configuration screen within Igor. Note that you will have to restart Igor to apply any changes to the screen resolution.
    • You can decrease the size of the visible screen when playing to reduce the amount of graphics that have to be put on screen. You can set the default size that a level starts with in the configuration screen. Alternatively, you can change it while you are playing a level by pressing the plus (+) and minus (-) key on the numpad (right side) of your keyboard. Note that these keys may have been reconfigured.
    • You can turn off sound effects in the configuration screen within Igor (set the volume to zero). This might increase performance considerably on some systems.
    • Make sure Windows' hardware acceleration is set to full. For information on how to do this, check your Windows manuals.


  • When I swap to a different task while playing, Igor disappears when I try to get back.
    This is most likely caused by a problem between DirectX and Windows, and you might find the same behaviour in some other games. It may also occur when an earlier application (that may have crashed) has made the system unstable. The most important advice is to swap tasks as little as possible, but sometimes all you need is a reboot to solve the problems.

  • The game locks up and I can't do anything anymore.
    Make sure you are using the latest drivers for your videocard (contact the manufacturer of your videocard for updated drivers). Update the drivers for your soundcard as well. Check to see if you have the latest version of DirectX installed (see http://www.microsoft.com/directx) or what the manual of your videocard mentions for DirectX related subjects. You can also see online if there are any patches for Igor available that might solve your problem, at the patches page.

  • I don't know what happened, but the game doesn't run anymore. It either exits with an error message, or doesn't even give me that.
    Check whether your harddisk is full (a common source of problems) and run Scandisk (included with Windows) to make sure your harddisk is ok. If these are not the causes, Igor might somehow have gotten corrupted. You should re-install the game.

  • I can not configure the 'pause' key to do anything.
    The 'pause' key is handled in a funny way by the computer and therefore it's tricky to catch it. You should not use the 'pause' key for anything in Igor. To pause the game, it's recommended you configure the 'P' key - which is also set by default.

  • I can not move Igor in the game.
    Make sure you are using the correct keys to move Igor. By default, the keys to use are the arrow keys inbetween the main keyboard and the numpad. If you want to use the arrow keys that also have numbers on them (the numpad) you should reconfigure the game keys by using the Configure Igor option in the main menu.

  • What keys can I use in the game?
    This is a complete list of keys you can use while playing. Note that these are the default keys, and you can change them at any time by choosing the Configure Igor option from the main menu of the game, and then Configure keys from the configuration screen. If the keys below don't work for you, and you don't know which ones have replaced them, just reconfigure the keys to get them where you want.

    Arrow keys (gray) Move Igor around: left, up, right or down.
    Spacebar If you press and hold the spacebar, and then press an arrow key, Igor will try to zap the object in that direction (this works for objects he can normally eat by walking over them).
    If you keep just the spacebar pressed for a few seconds, Igor will drop a Red dynamite (if he is carrying any).
    'R' key Pressing the R will make a recording of the game you are playing.
    'P' key Pressing the P will pause the game when you are playing.
    'S' key Pressing the S will save your game at the current point. Note that saving is only allowed in certain circumstances: If there are any Logfiles on the level (or were when you started), you must be on one to save. If there are no logfiles (and there were none when you started) you can always save.
    You can load your saved game later, by choosing the option Load savegame from the main menu in the game.
    ESCAPE Pressing the ESCAPE key will abort the game you are playing, and return you to the main menu screen.
    Gray minus (-) Pressing the minus key on the numpad (far right of the keyboard) will decrease the area of the level that's visible to you when you play. This is really only useful if you have a slow videocard, and it runs faster when you try.
    Gray plus (+) Pressing the plus key on the numpad will increase the area of the level that's visible to you when you play.
    Gray star (*) Pressing the start key on the numpad will set the area of the level that's visible to you when you play to its default value.
    Square bracket open ([) This square bracket is used to reduce the speed of the game while you are playing. This key is available in v1.3 or later.
    Square bracket close (]) This square bracket is used to increase the speed of the game while you are playing. This key is available in v1.3 or later.
    Equal sign (=) The equal-sign is used to re-select the default playing speed. (The default playing speed can be set in the configuration.) This key is available in v1.3 or later.


  • How can I cheat?
    How can skip more than three levels in the game?
    The game does not have any built-in function to cheat. However, there are two ways in which you can cheat relatively easily:
    1. You can rename the levelset for which you want to cheat, so that it will not have the default extension '.igl' anymore. You can then still load the levelset from within the game ('Load other levels') and play all levels. However, once you exit the game, your progress will not be remembered.
    2. You can download igor_cheater.zip. If you want to cheat for a levelset called full.igl then extract the file cheater.igp from the downloaded file, to the same folder as where full.igl can be found. (For the levelsets included with the game, the default location is C:\Program Files\igor\levels.) Then delete or rename any existing player file for that levelset (full.igp). Next, rename the file cheater.igp to full.igp. You should now be able to play the game with a player called 'Cheater!' that can play all levels.


  • Why does Igor move suddenly, when I don't do anything?
    If the joystick is enabled in the configuration screen, the game will 'listen' to its movements. However, some joysticks are not calibrated well, and it can happen that Igor detects a movement while you don't actually do anything. To prevent this, an algorithm has been used to supress this behaviour, but it is possible that it still happens occasionally.
    When you don't use the joystick, it's recommended to disable it in the configuration screen.

Answers to questions about levels and solutions

  • How do I use those zip-files you keep mentioning?
    A zip-file is actually an archive that contains one or more other files. The contents of a zip-file are compressed so that it will take up less room on your harddisk, and it transfers quicker over the internet. However, you will need to extract the contents (often called 'unzipping') before you can use it.

    To extract files from a zip-file, you will need a zip-program. The most well-known one is Winzip. It is easy to install and use, but unfortunately it's not free. Don't despair though, since there are a lot of free zip-programs out there. You can do a search on the internet, or check out these links:

    Please note that I have no connection to any of these programs, so for questions you should contact the author of the zip-program you downloaded.

  • Can I send you new levels I've made?
    Yes. You can submit your levels through an automated process here. Please use the provided form and do not just email level files as they will simply not be accepted.

  • Can all (new) levels be solved?
    Yes. At least all levels that are originally in the game, and the ones you can download from this website can be solved. For each level we've received we have also received, and checked the solution. Some levels may be very hard, but they can all be solved. If you really can't solve a level yourself, you can take a look at the solutions, but that's considered cheating. Just so you know...

  • Can you tell me how to solve a particular level?
    No. It is too difficult to explain, in writing, how to solve each level. There is a great alternative though. You can simply download solutions for all levels! You can play them back in the game, to see exactly how you can solve a level.

Answers to questions about the level editor

  • The editor will not let me insert a level into a levelset.
    Levelsets can contain a maximum of 100 levels. Since numbering starts at 0, the last level will be number 99. Trying to insert a new level will not work. You should either delete a level from the set first, overwrite an existing level, or save the level to a new (different) levelset.

  • What keys can I use in the editor?
    This is a complete list of keys you can use while editing. Note that unlike the keys you can use in the game, most of these can not be reconfigured.

    Arrow keys (gray) Move the white selection box around: left, up, right or down.
    Spacebar If you press the spacebar, the currently selected sprite will be drawn on the current position.
    Numbers 0 - 5 Select which layer(s) to view in the editor. 0, 1 and 2 view only that layer. 3 views all layers. 4 views the 'Visible when solved' layer. 5 toggles the Else layer. (More information on '4' and '5' can be found in the online help.)
    B Box, (introduced in V1.7) draws a (filled) box with the currently selected sprite. The first corner of the box is the currently selected location; the other corner of the box will be the location you select after pressing the 'B'.
    C Clear level. Will fill the entire level with the currently selected sprite. Note this is not the same as 'N' for new level. All options like the title and number of Datapods required will stay as they are, and depending on the selected sprite, other layers in the level may keep their current objects.
    E Toggle viewing the Else layer. See explanation for 'Visible when solved' layer in the online help.
    F Fill, (introduced in V1.7) performs a floodfill with the currently selected sprite. Note that due to the multiple layers in the levels, this has some tricky behaviour, especially when viewing a single layer. However, mostly it should be intuitive.
    L Line, (introduced in V1.7) draws a line with the selected sprite, from the currently selected location to the location you select after pressing the 'L'.
    M Move level. After pressing M, press any of the arrow keys to move the whole level one tile in the selected direction. Any objects pushed out of one side of the level will appear on the other side.
    N New level. Will clear the entire level (after asking for confirmation) and also clear the title, number of Datapods required, etc.
    R Redo, (introduced in V1.7) will redo the last change you undid.
    U Undo, (introduced in V1.7) will undo your last change in the editor.
    V View level, will show the whole level fit to the screen. Another keypress will return to the normal editor screen.
    Z Count objects in level. Will count the number of times the selected object appears in the current level. This is shown briefly in the statusline at the bottom of the screen.
    F2Emulation of left mouse button
    F3Emulation of middle mouse button
    F4Emulation of right mousebutton
    F10Test the current level
    PgUpLoad previous level
    PgDnLoad next level


Other questions?

If you have a question that is not answered in this FAQ, you can ask us. For more information about how you can contact us, see the Contact Information.
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