Technical Frequently Asked Questions

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Technical FAQ

Q: I upgraded Cosmic Blobs on the Mac and my expansion packs are missing.

A: Please make sure that you are installing the new version of Cosmic Blobs into the same location that the existing version is installed. By doing so, you will be sure to have your expansion packs included in your upgrade installation.

Q: The installer tells me I do not have Administrator rights.

A: You must have Administrator rights to install Cosmic Blobs, or install the Cosmic Blobs to a directory that you have write permissions. Find someone with Administrator rights to install Cosmic Blobs for you or install Cosmic Blobs into a directory you have write permission (e.g. C:\Cosmic Blobs\).

Q: When I start up Cosmic Blobs, a startup screen appears for a few seconds and then disappears and Cosmic Blobs seems to stop running. Why can't I run Cosmic Blobs?

A: Cosmic Blobs is a 3D intensive graphics program that does require a 3D graphics card. We suggest that you look at the list below of known unsupported graphics cards. If your graphics card appears below, then you will not be able to run Cosmic Blobs:

  1. SiS 661FX
  2. ATI Rage IIC (cursors are not supported)

If your graphics card does not appear in this list then we suggest that you update your graphics card drivers.

If Cosmic Blobs still doesn't run, please contact us for further assistance.

Q: On Windows 98, Windows ME, or Windows NT, a cryptic error message appears when I try to run Cosmic Blobs.

A: This message may appear on some older operating systems. UNINSTALL Cosmic Blobs, restart the computer, then reinstall Cosmic Blobs and try to run it again.

Q: I just installed the new version of Cosmic Blobs on my computer, but I cannot find my old blobs that I created. Where are they?

A: The blobs directory has moved to make it easier for multiple users to co-exist on the same machine. You can easily copy your blobs from their previous location to their new location. By default the old location was in C:\Program Files\Cosmic Blobs\My Blobs. By default the new location is under the \My Blobs folder under ‘My Documents’.

Q: I viewed my blobs by selecting the folder from within Cosmic Blobs and updated some blobs (changed a name, deleted or copied a blob) but I do not see these changes from within Cosmic Blobs. Why not?

A: Although you can access your blob files from within the Cosmic Blobs, you will not see any changes made until you close and restart the program.

Q: My mouse flickers when using Cosmic Blobs

A: First of all, verify that you are not displaying mouse pointer trails on your cursor by deselecting that option under your mouse properties. If your cursor still flickers, updating your video card driver to the latest version will fix this. For most video cards:

  1. Right-click on a clear space on the desktop.
  2. Select “Properties”.
  3. Click the “Settings” tab.
  4. Click the “Advanced” button.
  5. Click the “Adapter” tab.
  6. Click the “Properties” tab
  7. Click the “Driver” tab
  8. You can select the ‘Update Driver’ button

If these steps do not provide you with a way to directly update your driver, you can also log on directly to the video card website that you have and follow their links to update your driver.

Q: How can I find my blobs that I create?

A: By default, blobs that you create have been saved in the ‘\My Blobs’ folder, under ‘My Documents’. Just look in the folder color that you saved the blob in (by default it is blue). You may wish to change your view settings to ‘Thumbnails’ in order to see the image of the blob.

Q: In Cosmic Blobs I selected the export button and created an image file (or a 3d VRML file). How do I know where the file was saved and what the file was named?

A: In the export dialog, hold your mouse over the export option you wish to use. A pop-up balloon will appear and tell you the location of the file and the name of it. Click the button to create that file. Then you can navigate your way to the file in windows explorer.

Q: I loaded one of my blobs and it looks damaged! I spent a really long time on it. What’s wrong?

A: When you load a blob from a file, Cosmic Blobs has to reconstruct it piece by piece. Usually this is pretty quick, but for complicated files it can take a long time. Since Cosmic Blobs is always working to make your blob look better, the more complicated blobs may take a longer time to look ‘finished’.

Q: I accidentally deleted a blob. How can I get it back?

A: When you delete a blob from Cosmic Blobs, it gets put into the Recycle Bin on the desktop. You can RMB over the blob in the recycle bin and select to ‘restore’ it back to the folder it was deleted from.