Chicken Invaders:

Do you have a GeForce card? There are certain bad versions of GeForce drivers that cause this problem. This is a problem in the drivers themselves and is unfortunately completely outside our control.

The recommended way to fix this problem is to update your graphics card drivers (go to NVIDIA's web site for this). Alternatively, there is a workaround that alleviates or solves the slowdown problem altogether. Try this:

Right-click on your desktop and select "Properties". Go to the "Settings" tab and click on "Advanced...". Click on the "Troubleshooting" tab and move the slider to the left until it says that all DirectDraw and Direct3D accelerations have been disabled (around the middle of the range). Finally, click on "OK".

Note that this workaround might cause other games on your computer to slow down, so you may have to switch back and forth between settings, but it's certainly worth a try if you can't obtain an updated graphics driver.

Press the PAUSE key (near the top-right of your keyboard). If this doesn't work for you, you can achieve the same effect by pressing the ESC key (top-left of your keyboard) — just be careful you don't accidentally quit the game altogether when you return!

Windows XP's "sticky keys" accessibility feature interferes with games that use the Shift keys to fire. You will need to disable it. You can do this either from the dialog box that pops up when you press a Shift key 5 times in succession, or from Start/Control Panel/Accessibility Options/StickyKeys.

Your DirectX version is out of date (you need at least version 7.0). Download the latest version from Microsoft's web site here.

Again, your DirectX version is out of date (you need at least version 7.0). Download the latest version from Microsoft's web site here.

This message says that your computer can't switch to full-screen to play the game. There is no legitimate reason for this (unless you have another full-screen application running in the background). It is more likely a bug in certain video drivers (in conjunction with DirectX 7.0). Try updating your graphics card driver (check your manufacturer's web site) and/or DirectX version (here). Also, before running the game, shut down any instant messengers, and generally any program that may pop up a window. Check the system tray area (at the bottom right of your screen, next to the clock) and terminate any unnecessary programs.

Yes. From the main menu, select "options", then "controls". Click on each of the up/down/left/right/fire/missile controls, and then set your desired new control as follows:

• To use the keyboard, press the desired keyboard key.
• To use a joystick or gamepad, press a joystick button or move the stick in the appropriate direction.
• To use the mouse, click on the "use my mouse" button. This will set all of the controls for the chosen player to use the mouse. This option is only present starting with version 2.55. If you have an older version, follow these instructions instead:
  • If you want to use a mouse button, simply press that button.
  • For directional controls, you will need to move your mouse all the way to one of the screen edges. For 'left', move the mouse all the way to the left. For 'right', move the mouse all the way to the right. For 'up', move the mouse all the way to the top. For 'down', move the mouse all the way to the bottom.

At the "start your engines!" screen, simply press fire on both players. By default, fire keys are "left shift" (left player) and "space" (right player), although you can re-define them from the game menu (see above).

v2.61

Patch (not yet available).
Settings can now be saved in common app data folder.

v2.60

Minor update release.
Spaceship now follows mouse instantaneously (old control method still available).
Gamma ramp is now reset when starting up.
Fixed automatic fill-in of authorization code.
Installer compression is now LZMA (reduces download size).

 

v2.55

Minor update release.
Mouse is now the default controller for the left player.

Added "use my mouse" button when configuring controls.

 

v2.50

Major update release.
High scores can now be uploaded directly from within the game.
Added high score configuration menu.
Bonuses now can't be abused in two-player mode (charity, teamplay, destroyer).
Cutscenes can now also be skipped by pressing the fire button.
Improved Alt-Tab behaviour.
Redesigned font characters 'V' (to better distinguish it from 'U') and '1' (to better distinguish it from 'L') .
Fixed gradient of apostrophe character.
Added ellipses to button captions to indicate they lead to other menus.
Fixed planet earth map (was flipped on X axis!).

 

v2.40

Minor update release.
Fixed inconsistent (& slower) weapon firing rate (bug introduced in v2.30).
Veteran difficulty now scores 3x as much as rookie.
Increased security on high scores.
Minor tweaks to the documentation.
Fixed default weapon sound effect (was 8-bit) in demo version, too.

 

v2.30

Major update release.
Fixed stereo panning for laser and neutron gun sound effects.
Fixed coin bounce bug (y-axis momentum was transferred to x-axis).
Reduced number of chicken legs gained by "appetite" bonus.
Fixed framerate timer behaviour under Windows 95.
Improved Alt-Tab behaviour.
Fixed default weapon sound effect (was 8-bit).
Fixed stereo panning in "accident" cutscene.
Added support for mouse controller.
Expanded documentation.
Veteran difficulty level now scores twice as much as rookie.
Double weapon & powerup bonuses are now available in veteran difficulty too.
Added pause button.
Recharge rate for neutron gun is now faster but projectiles are slightly slower.
Two bosses now appear at end of planet 3.
Chicken sarges now give 10 chicken legs instead of 5.
Logfile is now uninstalled, too.

 

v2.20

Minor update release.
Replaced distribution file "file_id.diz" with "pad_file.xml".
Window frame is no longer drawn in full screen.

Asteroid explosions are now slightly larger.

 

v2.10

First 'official' release.
Added "veteran" difficulty.

Fixed "desktop icon" installer bug.
Disabled duplicate assignment of control keys.
Various other enhancements.

 

v2.00

Initial release.