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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I have multiple player profiles or transfer my game data to another machine?

It's not officially supported, but it's pretty easy to do. All of the player data is saved in a file called playerInfo.dat. If you purchased Cogs from Steam, you'll probably find that file here:
  • Windows 7: <your home directory>\AppData\Roaming\Lazy 8 Studios\Cogs\playerInfo.dat
  • Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\<name>\Local Settings\Application Data\Lazy 8 Studios\Cogs

These folders may be hidden by the file system, so you may need to enable hidden folder viewing to find them. If you have the PC version of Cogs from a source other than Steam, then you may instead find the player data file here:

  • C:\Program Files\Cogs\data\playerInfo.dat

On the Mac, you'll find it here:

  • <your home directory>/Library/Application Support/Cogs/playerInfo.dat

And on Linux, it lives here:

  • ~/.local/share/Cogs/playerInfo.dat

To start a new player profile, just rename this to something like playerInfo-Billy.dat and a new playerInfo.dat file will be created the next time you launch Cogs. You can restore Billy's data by copying over the new playerInfo.dat file. You can also copy this file to a new machine to transfer your progress.

Why are the higher levels locked, even though I purchased the full version?

The steam client must be running to play the full version of Cogs, but you do not need to have an active Internet connection.

What kind of hardware do I need to run Cogs?

Here are our the recommended minimum system requirements. If you're not certain about your computer's ability to run Cogs, try playing the free demo first.
Operating system: Microsoft Windows XP or Vista
Processor: 1.5 GHz CPU or better
Memory: 512 MB RAM
Hard disk space: 120 MB
Video: DirectX 9 compatible 64 MB graphics card with hardware transform and lighting (T&L)
Sound: DirectX compatible sound card
DirectX®: DirectX 9.0c or later

When I run Cogs, it complains about a missing DLL named MSVCR100.dll.

Download and install the missing file from here.

I installed a new language, but it's still in English. What do I do?

Just follow the instructions here.

Will Cogs run on my Mac?

So far, people have had great success running Cogs on their Macs using Boot Camp to dual-boot into MS Windows. However, Cogs runs too slowly to play when run from OS X with Wine or VMWare. We're hoping to have a Mac-native version of the game eventually. If you want to be notified when a Mac version is released, consider subscribing to the Lazy 8 Studios mailing list.

Why does Cogs run slowly on my machine?

Cogs doesn't require a very fast CPU, but it does need some reasonably powerful graphics hardware. Even if your graphics card claims to support DirectX 9c, Cogs needs hardware support of transform and lighting. If you really think that Cogs should run faster than it does, you may want to check if hardware acceleration is enabled.

In Windows XP, right-click on the desktop and select "Properties." Go to the "Settings" tab and click the "Advanced" button. Now go to the "Troubleshoot" tab and turn Hardware acceleration up to Full.

In Windows Vista, click the Start button and select "Control Panel". Click Appearance and Personalization, click Personalization, click Display Settings, and then click Advanced Settings. Select the Troubleshoot tab, and then click Change Settings. If you can't change your settings there, then hardware acceleration is probably already enabled.

Someone gave me a Steam key for Cogs. How do I activate it?

Just follow the steps on the Cogs key activation page.

Are there cheat codes?

Yes.

Well, what are they?

Say please.

Pretty pleeease.

Cheat codes can be typed on any screen and are not case sensitive.
  • Unlock: Unlock every level
  • MyStats: Show a detailed listing of your player stats, including attempts and time spent playing each puzzle.
  • TuneHintsOn/TuneHintsOff: Show or hide the white tabs that show when notes are played in tune levels.
  • TimeLimit10/15/20/25/30/45/60: Frustrated by Time Challenge mode? Too easy? Choose a time limit that's right for you.
  • There are a few others, but they're mostly for puzzle designers and can be found in the design documentation.

Can I design my own puzzles?

Yes, but there is no visual editor. You'll have to get your hands dirty. The documentation isn't ready yet, but you can still experiment. To get started, look for the file named data\ExpansionPackExample.hidden and change the extension from .hidden to .txt. The next time you launch the full version of Cogs, you'll see a new level at the end of the list. For now, you'll need to figure out the rest on your own.

We're just starting to post documentation on the Lazy 8 Studios wiki, but it will still take some time before the tutorial is complete. As the modding community grows, you'll be able to find new puzzles and get advice at ModDB.com

Can I share puzzles I create with other players?

Yes, but not for profit. If you design a great puzzle that you think is worth something, contact us at Lazy 8 Studios and we'll consider purchasing your creation if we would like to use it in an official expansion pack.

I have another question.

Technically, that's not a question. No matter. If your question isn't addressed here, you might first want to look for an answer on the Lazy 8 Studios discussion forum. If that's not helpful, you can send your question to support@lazy8studios.com. Just remember that there's one guy named Rob on the other end of that email address who's responding to every email while trying to make other cool new games at the same time. Rob will try to get back to you soon.