Of Puzzle Pirates, Java and Mac OS X

April 10, 2007 7:03 AM

I recently installed Puzzle Pirates on a brand new iMac running OS X 10.4.9 (Tiger). I'm having some odd behavior which is making most of the game unplayable. I don't expect anyone here to debug the program (I won't complain if you do), but rather I am looking for other ideas for troubleshooting strategies. Details and screencast inside.

For the non-Pirates here, Puzzle Pirates is a Java-based online game. You can either download a client or play directly in a web browser. You basically play by moving through a graphical "world" and engaging in puzzles.

I can download and install the client without problem. I can sign in. My pirate shows up on the dock. I can walk around. What I can't do is navigate my pirate anywhere: I cannot enter a building by clicking on the building sign; I cannot click the notice board sign; I cannot click another pirate to interact with them. If I try to use one of the yellow arrows (to enter a building, go to another room, etc) it does not work - hovering over the arrow does not change its state, clicking it has no effect. If I go to an island map, none of the buildings/locations are clickable.

What's odd is that so much of the game works just fine. I can talk, walk around. I can play puzzles if challenged by another pirate (I cannot initiate any challenges or use the tournament board etc). I can read the notice board via the side menu, but not by clicking on it on the dock.

I made a screencast of the problem, which hopefully makes things clear:

pirates screencast (about 3MB, no sound)

I've tried the basics: wipeout and reinstall, make sure Java is the latest version, etc. This is a stock iMac - quite literally I unboxed it, setup the default user, ran Software Update and then installed Puzzle Pirates.

I've tried support from the company (I'm a subscriber). I started a thread on their forums, which you can check for a logfile. I had some responses from other players, but nothing that ultimately helped. I emailed support and their response was to make a forum post and someone official would stop in and respond. No one official has stopped in since I made the thread over two weeks ago, and attempted email follow-ups have been ignored.

I have emailed other random people I found via Google who play puzzle pirates using Mac OS X 10.4.9 and the current version of Java - they report no issues. I am basically not sure why it works for them and not for me and hoping someone here has an idea. Thanks!

posted by mikepop to computers & internet (15 comments total)

Can you play properly with the web-based client? If so I'd assume it is not Java that is giving you problems, but rather the locally-installed client.

and I'll bump this thread. Arr.
posted by Rock Steady at 7:20 AM on April 10, 2007

Thanks, Rock Steady. I should have mentioned that the same thing happens with the web-based client.
posted by mikepop at 7:29 AM on April 10, 2007

I play puzzle pirates (web-based client) on a brand new macbook running os x 10.4.9 and have no issues whatsoever.

I'm not tech savvy, so this might be a really stupid suggestion, but have you tried uninstalling puzzle pirates and tried the web client without pp installed on your computer?
posted by necessitas at 7:43 AM on April 10, 2007

It's a good suggestion, and I did give it a try. But still no luck.
posted by mikepop at 7:46 AM on April 10, 2007

Does it make a difference at all if you use Alt to bring the arrows to the top before you click them?
posted by jacquilynne at 7:58 AM on April 10, 2007

A shot in the dark borrowed mostly from here.

Open up the program at /Applications/Utilities/Java/J2SE 5.0/Java Preferences.app.

Click on the General tab.

In the Java Application Runtime Settings area toward the bottom, drag J2SE 1.4.2 to the first position above J2SE 5.0.

Click the Save button to save the changes.

Close your browser. Reopen it and try your game again.

If that doesn't work, go back into the Java Preferences app and change the radio button at the top so that the J2SE version selected is 1.4.2. Try your game again.

If these troubleshooting ideas don't work, I recommend changing the settings back to 1.5.0 before moving on to other troubleshooting ideas.
posted by Mo Nickels at 8:10 AM on April 10, 2007

Sounds more like a java problem. Could be that you've got multiple versions of some java components installed on your machine or multiple versions of java installed.

Also, have you looked in the Console Log (Applications>Utilities>Console) for error messages? This may give you more of an idea.
posted by seanyboy at 8:11 AM on April 10, 2007

jacquilynne: no difference

Mo Nickles: I did try that. The same problem was there, but with added graphical glithces.

seanyboy: I am farily sure I don't have multiple versions of Java itself installed. What's the best way to check for components? I'll check the log out when I am home later, thanks.
posted by mikepop at 8:24 AM on April 10, 2007

Sounds like your computer booched Java!

Since it's so new, perhaps doing a Factory Restore would not be too problematic (I don't know Macs, but I assume they have some sort of functionality where you can revert the system to its original condition)? Then DON'T run the software updates and try Puzzle Pirates again (web-based first).
posted by Rock Steady at 9:44 AM on April 10, 2007

Just an FYI, lizthegrey has responded in your original thread.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:38 AM on April 10, 2007

Rock Steady: Yes I was thinking the same thing. I've been holding off as it has been a while since I've worked with Macs and I didn't want to delve into a full restore if it could be avoided.

Jacquilynne: thanks for the heads up!
posted by mikepop at 11:56 AM on April 10, 2007

Wooo! I used to play Y!PP. I started in beta and I'm glad you've discovered this great game :)

I used to play on a PC but got a Mac laptop. The problem is with the Java. The devs have really improved it over this past year, but it is still really unreliable when going into heavily populated areas like the docks or the inns.

When I was playing on my Mac, the only surefire way I didn't get lag was to immediate go to an isolated area (i.e. my house) and play the parlor tables/brawl tables I had in there.

Being on the seas can be hit or miss. Sometimes it didn't work at all for me, but sometimes I could go about 3-5 battles before I had to force quit and reopen the game.

Just make sure you always have the most recent Java update. Making Y!PP as playable on a Mac isn't on the top of the list of the devs (it's a long list especially since they are now developing other games) but it is still possible to have a fun, social gaming experience. Unfortunately, you can't do things that have a lot of avatars in one spot like hang out on Alpha docks, be at a busy Inn or blockade on a frigate or something.
posted by spec80 at 1:53 PM on April 10, 2007

I am curious how things will perform in a crowd, but what I have now is definitely not a lag issue. I am trying to work may way up to a lag issue :)
posted by mikepop at 3:50 PM on April 10, 2007

For anyone playing along at home, a complete wipe & reinstall of Mac OS X did not fix the problem.
posted by mikepop at 5:44 AM on April 12, 2007

Problem solved. Having exhausted all software checks I could thnk of I started looking at the hardware. Switched out the mouse (which was working ok with the rest of Mac OS X) and pirates started working just fine.
posted by mikepop at 6:15 PM on April 12, 2007