So, what's the word on the "save" bug?

I've wanted this game for a while, but obviously not if it's unplayable.

Well, at least I did not have a save bug on my system.

Thanks, silver.

I haven't bought the game yet -- the user reviews on this site raised my eyebrows when they talked about apparently a known bug being still present in the GOG version. So I'm just trying to understand whether it's an issue or not before I make the purchase.

The save bug is still there, I'm afraid, as well as a bug I remember where you can't get past a very early scene. Will post more...GOG, does no-one do playtesting anymore?

I don't doubt that there are people having this bug. But I can assure you: I did not. And could finish the whole game. No crash, no being stuck.

Just give it a try. You do have a 30 days return guarantee if the game won't work.

Could someone please explained these bugs, without spoiling too much of the game?

Maybe it can be avoided?

I remember playing this game when I was a kid, finished it too. But don't remember any bugs :(

I take it there was no official patch?

According to reports on the 'net, there was a bug that prevented the game being saved, either manually or via the auto-save feature. It was suggested that this was because the CD release had a miscoding that made the installed game map the CD drive as the save directory, and obviously the CD-ROM couldn't be written to.

I would have assumed this wouldn't be a problem with the GOG version, where you're not playing from optical media and presumably it's possible for people to save to their installation directory. But I was surprised to see that the first few reviews on the game's page are reporting that the bug still exists, which is why I came here to ask about it.

Obviously GOG is juggling a lot of responsibilities, but it would be great if they could clarify this issue. And as an ongoing feature, have some kind of tech update for any releases with apparent problems -- maybe as a sticky in each game's sub-forum -- giving the bottom line on such issues. e.g. "This has been fixed, so if there's a problem, troubleshoot your system" or "This can't be fixed, because the developers are no longer available, so either take it as-is or ask for a refund". At least then folks would know where it stands.

DOSBox mounts a CD image into a virtual CD drive. So it will just like on a real machine.

If it tries to save to the CD, then maybe there is a configuration file that can be edited.

The game is on my wishlist. I've purchased too many games at release / full price, so I'm determined to wait until a sale :)

There is a alleged solution for this posted here:

[url]http://archive.adventuregamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7101[/url]

but the way it is written is pretty confusing.

Guess I will wit to buy this until GOG fixes the bug.

I did buy Shadow Of the Comet, but held off on the sequal until I found out how much I liked the original.

The save bug can easily be avoided. GOG just has to check the DOSBox compatibility page for this game (if they didn't do that yet).

If you are installing the retail version of the game (as I did), all you have to do is to copy the files on the CD-ROM to a DOSBox folder, then in DOSBox (after mounting your usual DOSBox folder as your hard drive) to type "mount d [my virtual CD-ROM drive letter] c:\dosbox\prisoner [my path where I copied the files to] -t cdrom". Then you can go to the mentioned folder and start the game. Saving works. And also the CD music.

Seems that GOG just forgot to do its homework. Or there is an issue that prevents them from using this solution.

You can. Right-click, Show Package Contents, & again on the .boxer.

Which of the files is the .boxer? I can't see that when I look inside the POI.app by right clicking...

What do you see then? Assuming it's packaged like the other games it should be under: Contents\Resources\ directory.

GOG just fixed the save bug and added another language. From the changelog:

Update (27.07.2015)
We have added the Brazilian-Portuguese version of Call of Cthulhu: Prisoner of Ice. A BIG "Obrigado!" goes out to Karnak1 for the donation of the Brazilian-Portuguese version!
We have fixed the infamous "save bug" that plagued the Mac version of the game. You should now be able to save at anytime without the game crashing or acting in an unusual manner.
We are not responsible for any Old Ones inhabiting your computer.

Thanks GOG!