• If you are experiencing difficulties with Koi 3D, please look through the FAQ below, or read the documentation.
• If you are unable to find information there to solve your problem, please submit a help request.

Koi 3D Help FAQ:

1. Koi 3D runs very, very slowly.
2. Koi 3D will not run at all.
3. Why do I see a message about DirectX 8 during the Koi 3D installation?
4. Why doesn't the water surface look like the screenshots?
5. My Registration Code does not seem to work.
6. I have problems running Koi 3D on my laptop, but it works fine on my desktop.
7. I have the Background Sound option enabled, but I don't hear any sound.
8. I am having trouble downloading Koi 3D over a dial-up connection.
9. I am having technical problems, can you send me Koi 3D on a CD?

1. Koi 3D runs very, very slowly.

Try reducing the number of fish in the pond, or reducing the resolution setting for your pond.

Ideally, the framerate of your pond should be at least 15 frames per second (fps), and preferably over 20 fps. To check to see how fast your pond is running, press 'T' while the screensaver is running. The framerate will appear in the upper left-hand corner of the screen

2. Koi 3D will not run at all.

Try disabling the advanced water effects. If your computer hardware is more than a year or two old, this is most likely the problem.

If that does not work, try changing the resolution setting for your pond.

If that does not work, we recommend you obtain the latest graphics card drivers from your PC vendor's website, and install them, following the vendor's recommendations - if you are not comfortable installing drivers, we recommend contacting your vendor for detailed instructions or further advice. We cannot help resolve driver configuration issues and cannot take responsibility for problems caused by changes you make to your PC configuration.

3. Why do I see a message about DirectX 8 during Koi 3D installation?

(Windows 2000,98,ME only) DirectX is the set of Windows system components that handle advanced graphics and sound. Earlier versions of Windows shipped with earlier versions of DirectX. In order to run Koi 3D, you must have an updated version of these components (you may find that other applications have already updated these components, and you don't have to worry about this at all).

Our installer detects the version of DirectX you have installed on your computer. If you have an older version, it will install the update from Microsoft of these components. Screengardens does not produce or support this update, it is written and packaged by Microsoft - we simply bundle it into our installer for your convenience. After the DirectX 8 update is complete, you may be asked to restart your computer - you will need to re-run the Koi 3D Installer to complete the install process after rebooting.

Screengardens does not offer support for the DirectX installation or update process, but we assure you that millions of computer users have downloaded and installed these updates from Microsoft. For further information or support on DirectX, please see the the Microsoft DirectX website

4. Why doesn't the water surface look like the screenshots?

Some older graphics cards do not support all of the DirectX 8 features that Koi 3D uses.

If your graphics card does not support all the features of DirectX 8, Koi 3D will not be able to render the water surface effects (refraction and reflection). These are dependent on your computer hardware, and there is no solution to this problem other than making sure you are using the most recent drivers from your PC or graphics card vendor, or getting a more recent graphics card that fully supports DirectX 8.

5. My Registration Code does not seem to work.

Make absolutely sure you have entered all your codes correctly. If you make any mistakes, your Registration Code will not work.

(We recommend you use CTRL-C and CTRL-V to copy and paste your System ID and Registration Code to avoid making mistakes in typing. Note that we never use the letter "O" in our System ID's or Registration Codes, only the number "0".)

6. I have problems running Koi 3D on my laptop, but it works fine on my desktop.

The first release of Koi 3D may not run on some laptops, particularly those more than a couple years old (e.g. Windows 98 or Windows ME laptops). In general, the graphics capabilities of most laptop computers are a year or two behind the capabilities of desktops bought at the same time. A future release of Koi 3D will provide the option of using less advanced graphics techniques, so that it may be run on older laptops.

7. I have the Background Sound option enabled, but I don't hear any sound.

The 1.0rc2 and 1.0rc2a versions had a problem with their sound support. If you have one of these versions installed, you can download the latest version from our download page, or download the update below. Background sound currently will not play on Windows 98/ME.

If you are running a later version of Koi 3D and are still unable to hear any sound, make sure you have your system sound volume and speaker volume turned up and that you have a working sound driver installed for your sound card.

8. I am having trouble downloading Koi 3D over a dial-up connection.

If you are going to attempt to download any 10 megabyte or larger file over a dial-up connections, we highly recommend you use an add-on download manager program such as GetRight that allows you to pause, cancel and resume partially completed downloads of large files. This will save you a lot of frustration and time, and it will probably prove useful in downloading other large files in the future.

9. I am having technical problems, can you send me Koi 3D on a CD?

Obtaining a CD will not solve your problem, as the CD version is identical to the download version.

If you are having technical problems that you have been unable to resolve by reading the information in the documentation or this support page, you will need to submit a help request. The more clear and accurate your description of your problem, the faster and better we will be able to respond to it, and the more likely we will resolve any issues.