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LEAVING ALL OF THIS UP FOR HISTORICAL PURPOSE, BUT REALLY YOU CAN IGNORE ALL OF THIS AND JUST USE FLASHPOINT TO PLAY HATPC. SEE THIS POST IF YOU WANT MORE DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS
Once again, I'm rewriting an existing guide. Or rather, instead of making a "How to open" guide, I'm making one solely focused on the problems you can face when trying to play Hannah and the Pirate Caves (HATPC). I designed this guide like a flowchart to make it easier and faster to work through.
STEP ONE: Try Again
Just open and close the game window until it finally works. If it still doesn't work after about three tries, move on to the next step.
STEP TWO: DGS Error?
If you get a DGS Error, it is most likely the fault of neopets.com. Although, this theory has never been proven. Wait a few hours or a day, and if you still get the error, move on to step three.
STEP THREE: Which browser are you using?
HATPC is a very old Shockwave game, so it does not work properly in all browsers anymore. We find that HATPC works best in Google Chrome (download: here) and Apple's Safari (download: here). Many users on this site prefer to use Chrome for HATPC. EDIT: Chrome has betrayed us. Use Safari.
If you are currently using a different browser, that may be the reason why you cannot play HATPC. Download either Chrome or Safari, then try opening HATPC from one of those browsers by clicking here. If you still can't play, move on to step four.
Side note: If you do not want to change the browser that you normally use, you may be interested in some added convenience in another of my guides, which teaches you how to create a desktop shortcut that will open HATPC from any browser.
STEP FOUR: Do you have the latest version of Shockwave Player?
http://get.adobe.com/shockwave/
Visit the above link and download the latest version of shockwave. Beware of any offers to download a free toolbar or security scan. I suspect them to be safe, since they are from Adobe, but they are an annoyance.
Try opening HATPC again, by clicking here. If still nothing, go to step five.
STEP FIVE: Try visiting the game files directly
Click here: http://swf.neopets.com/games/g349_v9_99392.dcr
This is known to work in every browser except Internet Explorer 9.
If it still doesn't work, see the next step.
STEP SIX: Try clearing your browser's cache
Your browser saves a cache for many web pages in its attempt to cut back on loading times. Some of our users have found that clearing their cache enables them to play HATPC again.
To clear your cache in Chrome, click on the wrench icon at the top-right corner of the screen. Then click on "Options". An Options window will open up. Click on the tab called "Under the Hood". Right under the "Privacy" heading, click on the button that says "Clear Browsing Data...". Another window will open. In this window, uncheck everything except for "Empty the cache". Under "Clear data from this period:", select "Everything". And finally, click the button "Clear browsing data".
To clear your cache in Safari, click on the gear icon at the top-right corner of the screen, and click on "Reset Safari...". A window will open. uncheck everything except for "Empty the cache". Then hit the "Reset" button.
Try opening HATPC here.
If it still doesn't work, you can also try deleting all other forms of browsing data, and this usually works for most people.
Finally, if it still doesn't work, try clearing it again! Surprisingly this does make a difference quite often.
If even that doesn't work, move onto the next step.
STEP SEVEN: Maybe it's not your fault
There have been times in the past when HATPC wouldn't work for anyone because something would go wrong with neopets.com's game servers. This is similar to the DGS Error problem in Step Two, but neopets is clever, always finding better ways of screwing up HATPC. While in the past, the game used to go down occasionally, it seems very rare these days. However, the possibility is still there. To make sure if something is only happening to you, try asking other Interguild members if they are having any difficulties opening HATPC. If they are having the same problems as you, then it's possible that something's temporarily gone wrong with the game.
STEP EIGHT: Try downloading someone else's cache
We've now moved on to a daring step. We will now attempt to get HATPC to work for you by downloading almost 290 MB 755 KB of my own cache so that HATPC will always work for you. However, this cache is for Google Chrome only, so if you do not have it, download it here. However, Chrome must be closed while you follow these steps.
This method was developed when I noticed that there was something in my cache that allowed HATPC to work for me, and when the cache was cleared, it no longer worked. Luckily, I saved a backup of my cache, and I tried to find out what file was in there that was allowing HATPC to work. However, because I did not know what I was doing, removing things from the cache made it very unstable, as Chrome would sense errors and automatically change things to fix them. Therefore, I was not able to reduce the file size of the overall cache that you must download. However, so far this method has managed to fix HATPC for two people: jellsprout and Yaya.
Also, I am sorry I cannot provide any support for non-Windows users.
Here are the steps to successfully replace your cache with mine:
- If on Windows Vista or Windows 7, go to:
C:Users[USERNAME]AppDataLocalGoogleChromeUser DataDefault
If on Windows XP, go to:
Cocuments and Settings[USERNAME]Local SettingsApplication DataGoogleChromeUser DataDefault
The [USERNAME] represents the name of the user that you are currently logged into on your computer. There will be a folder named after that user name.
If you are having trouble finding some of these folder, it may be because they are hidden. Click on the Start menu at the very bottom-left corner of the screen and type in "folder options" into the search. Click on the "Folder Options" program that comes up. Click on the "View" tab, then look under the group of options under "Hidden files and folder" and select the option to "Show hidden files and folders". Now try again to find the above folder locations.
- Delete the following folders entirely:
Cache
Media Cache
(if you don't want to lose your caches, for whatever reason, you may want to just rename those folders in case you want to keep a backup).
- Open this: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0By4BC80t6oOoNzQ5YjZhNzctNWY1NS00M2ZmLWEzNWYtNjk3NGI2Njk3YjY4&hl=en&authkey=CN3A8PAK
- Take the two folders inside that zip file and extract them to your "Default" folder, mentioned in the first step. Make sure that the Cache and Media Cache folders within the zip file are placed directly into the Default folder. You do not want them to be inside a new folder (which may be automatically called "ChromeHATPCcache").
Now that you have successfully replaced your cache, try to play HATPC here. If you have any problems with this complicated step, please ask for help in the comments below.
If this doesn't work, try going through this step again, but instead use this cache: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0By4BC80t6oOoNzlkNGIzMjktMWUwZC00YTgyLWJiOTUtNjk5YzMyMjAxYTZh&hl=en
Be aware that this file is nearly 290 MB.
STEP NINE: Ask for help
If you still can't get HATPC to work, just post a comment below. Try explaining in detail what happens when you try to load the game, and I or some other members will try to figure out what's wrong. User Comments (290) | Darvince |
sea level change
Age: 24 Karma: 107 Posts: 2043 Gender: Female Location: The Nuclear Era pm | email
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How do you play custom levels now? When I use the swf link it gives a 504 timeout, and using the images.neopets.com link you provided doesn't even attempt to connect with anything (and so Fiddler is useless)...
"Time is a circuit, not a line; cybernetics instantiates templexity."
| | soccerboy13542 |
~*~Soccer~*~
Karma: 450 Posts: 4466 Gender: Male Location: 1945 pm | email
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I use the same link but in firefox/IE
'Livio' said: You know, I was thinking of getting an internship at Microsoft, but I'm not sure I want their lameness to rub off on me. | | Wolf_ |
Age: 32 Karma: 0 Posts: 9 Gender: Male pm | email
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Still unable to find the location hannah and the Kreludor caves is hosted at =[ | | Yimmy |
Resident Goody two-shoes
Karma: 72 Posts: 1625 Location: Climbing In Your Windows pm | email
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So me and Darvince where having trouble running HATIC and I'm posting the solution here so it's immortalized
So if when you try to run HATIC it gets stuck saying "Installing compatibility components" do this:
Right click on anything that uses shockwave (HATPC, shockwave test thingys), click on properties, uncheck enable backwards compatibility.
As a side note it works on firefox now
Interguild discord!! People use it!! | | Quirvy |
 Â
Karma: 655 Posts: 7753 Gender: Male pm | email
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I'm not sure if this has been said before, but regarding browsers, hatpc was working for me in firefox, but then today after I'd played earlier today, firefox updated and when I'd try to play hatpc it would try to download the .dcr link instead of playing the game like normal. So basically I downloaded an earlier version of firefox and now it works fine. The version I'm using is firefox 29 (which is way out of date so you might not want to actually use that version for other web browsing)
So if you're finding that it's always trying to download the game's direct link instead of loading it, perhaps try downgrading your version of firefox
spooky secret | | Yaya |
Age: 29 Karma: 747 Posts: 5367 Location: Ohio (US) pm | email
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I always instinctively decline updating browsers & apps, so I'm still on what I originally downloaded, version 49.0.2, which HATPC works fine on, in case you wanted a more recent version
COMING SOON: A giant meteor. Please.
Give me +karma. Give me +karma. | | Yimmy |
Resident Goody two-shoes
Karma: 72 Posts: 1625 Location: Climbing In Your Windows pm | email
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If anybody is having trouble running HATPC try using IE (which is strangely enough still included in Windows 10)
Interguild discord!! People use it!! | | Mymop |
Your Friendly Neighborhood Mop
Age: 22 Karma: 39 Posts: 859 Gender: Male Location: New York pm | email
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'Yimmy' said: IE (which is strangely enough still included in Windows 10)
Well if they didn't include IE in Windows, how would we download Firefox and Chrome?
| | Yimmy |
Resident Goody two-shoes
Karma: 72 Posts: 1625 Location: Climbing In Your Windows pm | email
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microsoft edge.
Interguild discord!! People use it!! | | Rocketguy2 |
God wishes he was me
Age: 21 Karma: 38 Posts: 850 Location: Clinging to the last whispers of life in my decaying body pm | email
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How do people get HATPC to run now? whenever I try to open it it just downloads a file
Can you feel your heart burning?
Can you feel the struggle within?
The fear within me is beyond anything your soul can make, you cannot kill me in a way that matters | | Yimmy |
Resident Goody two-shoes
Karma: 72 Posts: 1625 Location: Climbing In Your Windows pm | email
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That means you don't have shockwave installed
Interguild discord!! People use it!! | | Rocketguy2 |
God wishes he was me
Age: 21 Karma: 38 Posts: 850 Location: Clinging to the last whispers of life in my decaying body pm | email
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thanks, now I have to try to download it
EDIT: Safari worked, so that's helpful
EDIT 2: Huh, nevermind, It still asked for a download
EDIT 3: FIREFOX WORKED, CELEBRATIONS
Can you feel your heart burning?
Can you feel the struggle within?
The fear within me is beyond anything your soul can make, you cannot kill me in a way that matters | | aych bee |
when i am king
Age: 104 Karma: 147 Posts: 1002 Gender: Female Location: you will be first against the wall pm | email
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Lol I love that people used to be so desperate to play HATPC that they were fine with downloading Livio's cache. Reminds me of those stool transplants that some doctors are doing now (though to be fair they actually legitimately work in treating some conditions)
| | Yimmy |
Resident Goody two-shoes
Karma: 72 Posts: 1625 Location: Climbing In Your Windows pm | email
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I think we should detail flashpoint and how to play user levels through it here. Rocket guy's post wasn't a guide so it got buried and a few people have found this site through this page specifically, so I think it'd be worth having that information easy to find.
Interguild discord!! People use it!! | | Quirvy |
 Â
Karma: 655 Posts: 7753 Gender: Male pm | email
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At this point I think it's safe to just say "Download Flashpoint and use it to play HatPC". The notes for it on there even gives you instructions on how to play your own levels.
Which is honestly now like the easiest it's been to play HatPC in forever
spooky secret | | |
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