I was told that Steam's version of BM1 was broken, but the one sold by GOG wasn't. Yet I still encounter the sound bug where a very loud static/crackling sound will come from the speakers, and the game will crash to desktop. Apparently some of the sound files are corrupted, and the problem happens quite often. Sometimes it's possible to skip the dialogue to avoid the problem, but that takes away much of the immersion. Has there been a fix for that?

I just downloaded and installed the game, and I am having the same problem. Maybe GOG are accidently selling the old version with these issues instead of the version, where these issues have been fixed? I tried searching other forums for solutions and several places the GOG version is praised for not having these issues, but those threads go more than a year back in time.

I don't know of a fix for the sound. However, if you are using Windows, try setting the Compatibility settings to Windows 98/ME; that has solved the crashing issue for me at least.

Nevermind, somebody on Steam posted a fan-made patch as a solution. Find the link in the first post, download the file, extract it into the game's root folder, and run "go.bat". Problem solved. No more screeching sounds or crashing.

http://steamcommunity.com/app/292930/discussions/0/619569341039882894/?insideModal=1#p2

It looks like GOG used to have a working version, but then for some reason reverted to the one with corrupt files. This patch makes it right.

Unzip the contents of the archive into the "Black Mirror" folder. For me the default folder is "D:\Games\Black Mirror", but for you it may be in "Program Files". This will create files named gfx1, gfx2 etc. Make sure your game isn't running, then run the executable. You'll see a DOS window displaying the patching progress. Wait until it says "press any key to continue", then do that, and the patching will be complete. Now you can launch the game and continue from your last save. If you get an error while patching, you most likely unzipped the archive to a wrong folder.

Thank you! It worked beautifully :-)

Thank-you so much, worked great. One thing though, run the bat file not the executable.

No problem! I just wish someone from GOG fixed the issue. The game is nigh unplayable in the current state when downloaded from GOG.

Bought BM1&2 when launched last year on gog but didn't played them because I wanted the whole experience thus I decided to wait for BM3 release too.
And then Nordic left without releasing BM3 on gog. Still didn't played BM1&2, having the hope of Nordic return and consequently BM3 launch.
Now Nordic have returned with BM3 launch too so I bought BM3 and started playing the saga with BM1.

And of course I have the same stupid problem as described in this thread.
Applied the fix and the game works fine now.

But I'm extremely pissed at both Nordic and GOG.com for selling a bugged version when a year ago they sold the correct patched version. This is highly unprofessional and rudely amateuristic behavior.

Shame on you, GOG.com and Nordic!!!

Thanks, that should help everyone enjoy the game. Does the updated version add anything other than the sound fix? I don't want to download it as the game works fine for me now, but I will if it has some added value.

Did this issue only affect English versions or the German versions as well? I've noticed that there's a newer version from the German installer then mine, but I'm not sure if I have to download it or not.

Again, thanks for your quick reply. I don't know "if the game works for me in German as intended" because I didn't play it so far, I've enjoyed only the DRM-free installation until now. ;) (Always a good feeling, please continue to bring good old and new Games in German without DRM. :) )