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I'd start singing, but I don't think your sense of musical taste would be able to handle the assault. So I'll just go and wish you a very happy birthday.

I realize you may have already obtained some pre-emptive congratulations, but I believe it is mandatory that you get at least your own birthday thread here.

So, happy birthday and lotsa luck and hapiness.

While Al Emmo himself is a gemini, the person who voiced him is a scorpio and his birthday happens to be...today. (or, if it's still the 31th at your place, tomorrow)

Happy Birthday, Chris.

[Update: December 7th, 2010]

Update: December 7th, 2010

Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman's Mine version 3.0 has been released! This is the first major release of the game since 2006.

Download the new version from here   (Free 60 Minute Trial)

Price: $9.99 USD

Upgrading to version 3.0 is free for customers who purchased the game directly from Himalaya Studios. If you purchased the Digital Download version, simply uninstall your old version, then re-install version 3.0. The same serial key number you were allocated will work.

If you purchased the CD version of Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman's Mine from Himalaya Studios and would like to upgrade to version 3.0, please send us an email at mailto:replacements@himalayastudios.com">replacements@himalayastudios.com, quoting your order reference number and/or shipping address where the game was sent to, and we'll assign you a new serial key that works with the Digital Download version of the game.

Important:  Please note that savegames from previous versions of the game are not compatible with v3.0!

The main addition to 3.0 is the implementation of higher resolution modes which allows for a more detailed Al Emmo character sprite.  A full list of additions, features, improvements, and bug fixes is below:

CHANGES TO VERSION 3.0
----------------------
WARNING: GAME SPOILERS AHEAD

- Added: Support for higher resolution graphics
- Added: Direct3D driver mode
- Added: a more highly-detailed Al Emmo sprite in high resolution modes
- Added: proper Windows Vista & Windows 7 support and functionality
- Added: an Exit button to the title screen
- Added: a checkbox to the installer asking whether the user wants to create a game desktop icon or not
- Added: Better-looking top corner page-turn menus and clearer bottom-left corner map menu
- Added: the current Act number to the top GUI bar
- Added: the ability to press CTRL+C to quickly clear any characters in GUI text boxes
- Added: visual "Continue" and "Replay" buttons to the GUIs that appear after the Comic Cutscenes
- Added: the ability to dismount the saloon barstool by clicking the Walk icon
- Added: an advance hint in the mines about the imminent flooding river booby-trap
- Added: some replacement Andretto speech lines and lip-syncing in the mines
- Fixed: potential permission conflicts under Windows Vista and Windows 7 accounts without Admin privileges
- Fixed: save-game files potentially getting misnumbered and overwriting existing save-games
- Fixed: Centered All GUIs
- Fixed: Dragging the Music Volume slider to the very bottom will now mute game music completely
- Fixed: several instances where the wrong mouse cursor was being made active after closing GUIs
- Fixed: being able to pour the flask of water from the upper window of the Hospitality House
- Fixed: Made Al Emmo stop walking when the Rita Flyer and Business ID Card items are clicked on him
- Fixed: bugs where Al could pass into non-walkable areas of the Saloon, Indian Plateau, & Bull Pen screens
- Fixed: a bug where clicking through narrator speech when viewing the saloon Drink Menu closed the menu
- Fixed: a bug where exiting a screen could cause Al Emmo glide without using his walking animations
- Fixed: Disabled the CTRL+Q hotkey for the Quit GUI when a map GUI or similar close-up GUI is on-screen
- Fixed: the Exit Arrow icons so that they revert to the Wait icon as soon as Al Emmo begins his exit
- Fixed: Made Rita's gate easier to click when opening/closing it. Also fixed the opened gate's z-order
- Fixed: some omitted Rita speech lines when talking to her about the location of the Miner's Cabin
- Fixed: Viewing the Rita Flyer and Andretto ID card close-ups will now stop Al from moving
- Fixed: Prevented the player from viewing the Rita Flyer during timed-events
- Fixed: a bug where turning Special Effects off would make sunlight beams appear inside buildings/houses
- Fixed: being able to walk through the 2 Plateau Indians when standing behind the pair and talking to them
- Fixed: a bug where the Trial Door's text parser sometimes permitted incorrect answers
- Fixed: a bug where Al could clip through the Aztec Altar
- Fixed: Prevented the player from being able to read the journals while in the mine (which caused issues)
- Fixed: Implemented some hotspot adjustments, making their shapes and sizes fit the scenery more accurately
- Fixed: various walk-behind masking and walkable area glitches
- Fixed: some incorrect mouse icons on various GUIs
- Fixed: several minor spelling/grammar errors
- Fixed: other small glitches and bugs
- Changed: The game no longer uses a music.vox file. Both sound and music resources are now stored in audio.vox
- Changed: Rita's house now shows on the map after first seeing her in Act 1 (previously it showed in Act 2)
- Changed: The game now natively plays Ogg Theora video files, preventing potential video stream freezes
- Changed: Save-game and character export files are now stored in the user's My Documents/My Saved Games folder
- Changed: the game's installer to use Inno Setup for better compression and performance




September 6th, 2006

IT'S OUT!!!

Yes, folks. After years of work, Al Emmo has finally been released. It's shipping today and those of you who pre-ordered it should expect it to arrive on your doorstep very soon.

This is the end of a loooong road and it feels good to know we've finally reached the finish line. I'd like to extend my thanks to the following people...

- All the people who beta tested and reviewed our game. The game's quality is higher than it was before and more people know about it.

- All our fans who've supported us and stood up for us more often than I can either count or mention.

- All the people who pre-ordered the game. May your gaming experience be a good one.

- All our modellers and animators who've worked so hard to get the game characters transferred to 3D.

- Michael Freeman who didn't just work on the animations but also drew those awesome comic scenes.

- Eriq Chang for creating several fine backgrounds and an awesome site.

- Charles Hutchins for putting such an obscene amount of time into the 3D movies.

- Britney's uncle and Anne Steinmetz for the help and advice on the sidelines.

- Chris Jones for his great technical support.

- Tom and Dianne Lewandowski for creating the wonderful soundtrack of the game.

- Daniel for having to come up with so many different things to say about cacti and red rocks, as well as for writing the amazing dialogue that makes up the heart of the game.

- Sean for all his help on the forum, the server and the online store...as well as being such a gracious host.

I guess the CD printing company isn't going to give you the ultimate birthday gift today (the game in its full printed glory), but I nevertheless hope you have a wonderful birthday today with all your friends.

Cheers to a year that will be remembered as D turning point in your life.

This is the technical area of the Himalaya Studios community. When posting a technical issue in here, please try to be as specific as possible about the nature of the bug. It often helps to mention where the bug took place, in what act and what seemed to trigger it. Whenever the issue seems a problem with the engine itself (game won't start, for instance), mentioning your system specs would be a good idea.

For the moment, this forum allows guests to post. (you don't need an account) However, every thread that doesn't belong in this forum will be removed. If you wish to discuss non-technical subjects in this community, please register an account.

Welcome to the general forum of the Himalaya community. This is where all questions and comments not directly related to content of Al Emmo are posted. Please try to remain on-topic and keep threads slightly Himalaya-related.

Hi everyone. Welcome to the Al Emmo folder of the Himalaya Studios community.  This folder is where you can post all requests for hints and tips, as well as ask questions about the game itself.

Since the first playthrough is the most memorable experience in an adventure game, I'd like to ask everyone to keep two things in mind as to avoid ruining other people's fun:

1) Hints are preferred over spoilers. If someone doesn't specifically ask for a hint or a spoiler, assume he merely wants a subtle nudge, rather than being given the answer on a silver platter.

2) If someone asks specifically for a spoiler, kindly use the spoiler option above the window where you type your message. This will make sure people aren't accidently spoiled when browsing threads.

Thanks in advance and have fun.