Bought my first game from GOG -- U7 Complete -- and have no control of keyboard, not even ESC or ENTER, which means I cannot save (and cannot create my own character name). I can Journey On from the main menu and have an Avatar named "DJ" so it seems that I have a used copy -- and perhaps a defective one.

Wondering: Has anyone ever received a defective copy from GOG and then had success getting a replacement copy from GOG of the same game?

Any reason to believe that such a keyboard problem is resident in the copy I got rather than some system issue? Have never had lack of keyboard control with any other program or game.

Thanks,
Glenn

Shouldn't be the copy from GOG, since everyone gets the same game files. You can try redownloading it, in case some files were corrupted. Do you have mouse control? Have you checked the manual for which keys do what?

Thanks for the reply.

I must have corruputed files for U7. If you/others didn't inherit the Avatar already named "DJ" and could create your own character name, you don't have the same files I have.

I have mouse control. I am familiar with the manual, but no hot keys or other letter/number keys are functional. Since ENTER also is not functional, I can't save using only the mouse.

To try to isolate the problem, I ordered a different title and I DO have keyboard control for that, so it has to be the U7 files I received that are the problem.

I would love to re-download, however: I could only download using Galaxy. and as I understand it, the only way to re-download is through Account, which is accessible only through GOG.com -- and I don't have download functionality there. IF YOU KNOW HOW TO RE-DOWNLOAD THROUGH GALAXY, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

Several alternatives did not work: I tried Uninstall, then re-install; I tried running setup again; and I used the repair/verify function, with no improvement.

Glenn]

That's what it should look like: http://imgur.com/5Mf0lcF

You hold your mouse over ACCOUNT, left click on LIBRARY, left click on the cover of your game and then left click on the file below GAME DOWNLOADS. Then a window should pop up, telling you, that your browser is trying to download the file.

I really appreciate your reply. You have helped some by telling me that using the downloader is futile. No wonder it did not work, sending me to Galaxy. (Curious, if it is retired, why it is still a menu option -- besides the point for now).

So, yes, I can get to the U7 download page, the one STRYX displays in another reply. From there, I can download the extras no problem. As for the game itself, clicking on it gets me the executable for setup and then I can install successfully. But then when the game launches I have no keyboard control. (I do not have this problem with U9, which I ordered from GOG.com subsequently). I have re-run the U7 setup twice more (again today) this way with no change in outcome. If that is re-downloading, then that is not the solution this time.

The U7 Introduction runs fine (though the ESC key won't work), and the menu appears, but at the START A NEW GAME screen, I cannot type a character name, so cannot begin the game in the conventional way. My work-around to get started was to go back to menu and try JOURNEY ONWARD. That started the game. HOWEVER, it gave me a previously created Avatar named "DJ" (created by someone else) and the keyboard still does not work. So I can adventure, but none of the hot keys works AND if I try to save through the disk icon in Inventory, I cannot type a save-game name, nor does ENTER work to complete the save. I have complete mouse control, but without the ability to save the game is dysfunctional (I don't think I'm going to be able to complete U7 in one sitting!)

No matter what else I have done, I end up with the same problem. Re-running setup in the fashion you described does not change the outcome. Trying Uninstall, then Install does not change the outcome. Clicking Repair/Verify didn't change the outcome. Shutting down or re-starting my computer does not change the outcome.

What am I missing? Is there another possibility other than that the files I received were corrupt upon arrival?
I bought U9 to see if the problem was epidemic. But U9 works fine, so I don't think the problem with U7 is my computer, but with the files I received for that one game.

I wrote to GOG support three days ago and have provided updates. No response yet.

Thanks again for replying and I welcome all other insight.

Glenn

Thanks so much for the reply.
I have done exactly as you describe twice -- the second time today -- to re-run the executable Setup (I didn't know that was called re-downloading, but I'm glad you cleared that up). I get no change in outcome. Still no keyboard control, no ability to Start a New Game, and no ability to Save. If I Journey Onward from the main menu instead, I can play with an inherited Avatar named "DJ" , but have no hot keys, and no ENTER key to complete a Save.

I get no change in outcome by re-running Setup, by using Uninstall then Install, by using Repair/Verify or my re-starting or shutting down my computer. (I've had my fill of the introduction that I cannot abbreviate because I cannot ESC!).

Can you think of any other solution other than obtaining new files from GOG.com?

Thanks again,
Glenn

From what you've written so far I don't think it's the installation files. That JD character is the pregenerated character, that the game comes with, just in case the player doesn't want to bother with character generation (which is laughable in U7 to begin with).

That's what support says in general to keyboard issues.

Keyboard/mouse not working
Additional info

CHECK ADMIN PRIVILEGES AND UAC SETTING
Please make sure that your user account has Administrator privileges and that User Account Control is disabled in your operating system. To do this, go to Start -> Control Panel -> User Accounts and Family Safety -> User Accounts -> Change User Account Control settings. Move the slider to the lowest position ("Never notify") and click OK.
Afterwards, launch the installer by right-clicking its shortcut and selecting "Run as Administrator". Each time you launch the game, you should use the “Run as Administrator” option as well, just in case.
If that doesn't help, try installing the game into a simple folder, like D:Test , to make sure that no problems are caused by Windows Virtualization technology.


DISCONNECT UNUSED, UNNECESSARY OR IN OTHER WAY UNUSUAL CONTROL DEVICES
If you're using multiple control devices (like multiple keyboards, mice etc, please disconnect (unplug) all except the ones you intend to play the game with.



How did you contact support? When I contact support I click on SUPPORT right next to ACCOUNT at the top of the screen, then go to Games Support, type in the name of the game (in this case Ultima 7), click on the appearing link, and then click on "I can't find solution for my problem" on the right side of the screen below "@contact our support team".

That brings you to an online-form, where you can describe your problem. So far when I have done that, I have gotten a response within a workday. But remember that today is saturday and the people at GOG will start working again on monday.

Good someone knowing more about things came along with real helpful advice :-)

Thanks again. Good to know "JD" is supposed to be there. Gradually, with help from this forum, I am eliminating variables.
Yes, before writing to support or this forum, I followed the guidance to disable UAC, operate as admin and run as admin.

I have not tried the TEST folder technique, so that's next. But, again, no such problems with U9, so seems less likely that my system settings are interfering.

When I first wrote to support, I received an auto-reply that my question had been received. That was Wednesday night U.S. time (so early Thursday in Europe) and I was assigned a ticket number. It's likely that the weekend is getting in the way and while anxious to get this running correctly, I am not impatient with GOG Support.

Though I have not had success yet, I truly appreciate you taking so much time to help. You get Ultima points from me for Sacrifice and Compassion -- and maybe Valor, too!

Is this a clue?

My Collection shows U9, U7 Black Gate + Forge of Virtue, and U7 Serpent Isle -- as expected.
When I click on MODE and then single-player, the two U7 images disappear, but U9 remains. If I de-select single player, the two U7 images reappear.

Also, when I try to save via mouse/inventory/disk icon, I do not see "Empty Slot" on the first line, nor "Quick Save" on the second. They and all the other available lines are blank. The cursor will blink on any of them, but I cannot type into them, nor save.

Do these facts steer us toward a solution?

thanks,
Glenn

So sorry, I meant that I did not really know what I was rambling about and never should have posted in this thread.

U9 doesn't use DOSBox to run on a modern system, so the results are not necessarily comparable.

Do you have any other DOSBox game in your library, that you can try out? When joining the club you should have gotten a few games for free. Martian Dreams? Savage Emipre? Ultima 4?

I did not receive free games. I don't recall an invite to "join the club," though I am subscribed to alerts, promos and announcements.

Glenn

About the "DJ"-character in the game: I guess GOG just took the prepared and installed U7-version from the abandonware-site djoldgames, as the guy there calls all his default characters and savegames "DJ". That's a little bit irritating for me, as it would mean that GOG didn't make their own proper installation of the game but instead just took the one from the other site.
I don't think your problem is caused by corrupt data.
If you haven't considered before, I would strongly suggest you (and everybody else) to use Exult to run Ultima VII - it's fast, reliable and indeed an overall better experience to play Ultima VII than in the dosbox. Just make sure to download the latest snapshot and you'll experience the game in the best possible way.

EDIT: However, if you would really like to play the game with Dosbox (which is, depending on your cycles, either terribly slow or way too fast), I'd suggest you make your custom version of it, just to try if it works this way - it's quite easy to do so (I do it for most games I buy here):

1. Download the latest version of Taewoong's Custom Dosbox
=> [url=http://www.msu.edu/~yootaewo/_db/20150125.7z]http://www.msu.edu/~yootaewo/_db/20150125.7z[/url]

2. Unpack the file. From the unpacked 7z-file copy the "dosbox.exe" and the "dosbox.conf" direclty into your Ultima 7-folder (where "ULTIMA7.COM" is located)

3. Open "dosbox.conf" with wordpad

4. search for "xms", "ems" and make sure they are set on "false"

5. scroll down to the bottom, under

"[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.
# You can put your MOUNT lines here."

and write the following under it:

mount c .
c:
ultima7
exit

6. save the file and start the game with "dosbox.exe"