Whenever I run anything other than software render, my characters seem to disappear into the background. I would just run it on software mode, but that messes with the sound and makes the game run slow. Does this happen to anyone else?

Exactly the same for me too.
I even had issues getting the game started until I saw that useful post about ffdshow options (although the game still crashes if you try to watch the entire video opening).
It's a tad unplayable atm.
Bit miffed to be honest... :(

I have a bit of a problem with HW mode, that when the camera zooms in, there is graphical corruption.
I guess the solution would be to disable zooming when the game start, I have not tried it yet.
Also, sometimes there are some weird grey lines, also graphical problem.
I tried SW rendering, it was really slow and sound was weird...
I am also sad that it does not work completely perfectly : /
I have latest nvidia drivers and GTX280 on WinXP SP3.
I did not have a problem with starting the game, because I use Community Codec Pack (CCCP), which is flawless thing.
EDIT - OK, I disabled HW zoom, and one problem related to zooming is fixed.But the grey lines during combat with those big monsters (Garcia) remain.Those lines appear only when fighting these monster as far as I could see. It is playable, just annoying.

I'm having the same problem.
I haven't found any solution to it, but I have found that going into my graphics card settings and telling it to override application settings for antialiasing mode seems to make it *worse*.
Obviously, that's not going to help you, but perhaps someone can use that info to figure out a fix.
Right now I'm forced to play in Software mode which looks worse and has painfully choppy audio. :(

It ran well on my Nvidia 6800, but I upgraded to a 9600 and I have the same issues.
GOG has noted that they are aware of the problem and are working on it Read Bottom of this Post, and hopefully they will have a fix sooner rather than later or never.
Hope this helps

I managed to find a workaround for my XP (sp3) PC. Run the game in compatibility mode for Windows 2000, with 'run in 640 x 480 screen resolution' It will then work in software rendering mode.
HW mode had major graphical artifacts, and when I tried to run it is SW mode the game would crash before starting.
The movies work fine, and I've not noticed any graphical issues after doing this. Have noticed sound does stutter occasionally. My video card is a Nvidia 8800GTS

Using the Direct3D options, I can't duplicate these problems on my ATi 4850s.
The intro movie will not play because a message pops up asking for Media Player 6.2. My Desktop's WMP is pretty screwed up, so maybe I need to try this game on my netbook with 3DAnalyze.

Works almost perfectly on my Acer One with Windows 7 without 3DA - in HW mode the start of any FMV has a ghost of the previous image - otherwise runs smoothly with no issues.

Let me say a few things:
1) I had the problem where the game crashed during the intro movie. I followed the advice of Faithful on [url=]http://www.gog.com/en/forum/gorky_17/game_crashes[/url].
2) I was having some strange graphical glitches with CCCP FFDShow. It would only show the top third of the video on the bottom of the screen. I completely uninstalled CCCP and reinstalled it. Now the videos work fine.
3) I still have the glitch were the characters disappear. I tried a lot of different options, but only running in SW mode works. Of course, then the sound pops... even running in compatibility mod and 640 x 480 res. However, I have found one TEMPORARY SOLUTION. When I switch screens to the desktop (ALT TAB) and then go back to Gorky17, I can see everything fine. This only last for about 10 seconds or so... or until a new character appears. It doesn't make the game much more playable, but it can help in a pinch.
4) Thanks everyone for trying so hard to come up with solutions.

This is issue is NOT solved.
The system requirements on the GOG page for Gorky 17 says VISTA 32/64. Which means it should work WELL in at least one of the render modes. Not almost or partially or with OLD hardware. The person who marked this as SOLVED needs to unmark it because it is NOT SOLVED.
For me, as for many many others, software mode is slow, jittery, and the sound stutters. Hardware mode doesn't work at all beyond the end of the first movie or one you clock New Game from the menu.
Every listed work around has been tried.
I have looked for fixes/patches or some kind of resolution on the net and no resolutions are out there.
GOG has been working on this issue for a year...I hope a resolution form them is forthcoming.
To GOG...is a fix on the way?
Thanks

My reply did solve it partially. It just means the game runs fine only in software rendering mode, which should've been clear. Also, OS support does not mean it supports your hardware.

I wouldn't consider this as solved too. the hardware mode is unplayable at far to many gamers' hardware, let alone d3d. of course there are always some conflicts with old games, but buying this game at gog suggested it would run easily on new hardware. isn't this the purpose of a platfom as gog? i purchased the game back then and still have the original cd back home. the only reason i repurchased it on gog, was that i had problems getting the old game to run on my laptop. and after downloading it from gog, it shows exactly the same behaviour. i'm not mad or something, though a little disappointed cause i thought they apllied some sort of patches or makeover. thought wrong...

i also don't think this game will ever be playable on my hardware, which is a pity, regarding gorky 17 is a classic game with some deep memories involved.

Agreed. I think GOG should put a disclaimer on this game that states it NOT run in HW mode with modern graphics cards.

Seems the honest thing to do, as I still feel taken after buying this game and GOG has totally dropped the ball and walked away on this title.

Seriously, there should really be some kind of warning or note to customers so we don't get people who buy this only to find out they can't play it, like me. I can't really fault them for not being able to find a fix yet as long as they're still trying, but if you need old hardware to run it, that should be listed as a specific system requirement, even if it comes with a tag saying it might change in the future if they're working on it.