Crystal Hunter revitalized

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David Williams

Crystal Hunter revitalized

Post by David Williams »

I recently set about updating my old (2006) 'Crystal Hunter' game. It is actually quite an extensive update of the original program.

It now has a new (smaller) map, baby monsters (more lethal than the big ones), some additional collectables, and the crystals are more sparkly!

There are now 10 crystals to collect as opposed to 8 in the original version of the game.

The first person to complete this new version of Crystal Hunter and send me a valid password wins £100. A password is displayed shortly after completing the game. Note it down carefully!

This is a First Past The Post competition, it doesn't have 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. I was going to do that originally but have since changed my mind because I have too much on my plate, and other reasons.

The game, which is not very challenging, can be completed in 7 or 8 minutes, but of course you need to know what you're doing!

Competition Rules:
EDIT: The deadline has now passed and the competition has ended without any submissions. No submissions will now be be accepted.
1) Upon successful completion of the game, send the displayed password to me at dw3231091 AT gmail DOT com, or send me a private message here on this forum.
2) Don't publicly post any passwords on this forum or anywhere else, please.
3) This is a First Past The Post competition. The first one to send me a valid password wins the competition.
4) Payment is via PayPal only. A valid e-mail address linked to your PayPal account will be required.
5) No correspondence will be entered into.
6) The competition closes when I receive a valid password (this will be publicly announced at the nearest opportunity).
7) Competition end date is 23:59:59 GMT on Thursday 16th September 2021. No submissions will be accepted after this date.
8) Don't cheat! Do not modify the program or its resources in any way whatsoever.
9) I reserve the right to cancel the competition at any time for unspecified reasons.
10) I reserve the right not to pay the winning cash prize if I suspect the player has cheated.

Download link:
http://www.proggies.uk/bb4w/downloads/crystalhunter.zip (last checked 08-Sep-2021)

If that link stops working, then try the following (indirect) link instead:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YRSbdK ... sp=sharing

Extract the zip folder to a suitable place before running the game. Don't try to run the game directly from the zip folder, it won't work.

Note that you may receive security or even virus warnings upon downloading or running the program. This is a clean download that has been put through Windows Defender, F-Secure and the excellent online malware scanning service VirusTotal (which did actually find 3 false positives from obscure virus scanners no-one has ever heard of, but they are indeed false positives).

Have fun! :D :D :D


David.
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Last edited by David Williams on Fri 17 Sep 2021, 02:12, edited 3 times in total.
MrHiggins
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed 28 Jul 2021, 13:29

Re: Crystal Hunter revitalized

Post by MrHiggins »

The link seems to give a 403 forbidden error?
David Williams

Re: Crystal Hunter revitalized

Post by David Williams »

MrHiggins wrote: Sun 15 Aug 2021, 18:56
The link seems to give a 403 forbidden error?
Sorry, that was a bad start wasn't it! Link now corrected, but...

I've just noticed f**king Windows Defender is reporting a 'severe' malware alert upon downloading the zip file; it reckons the zip contains a trojan called Trojan:Win32/Spursint.F!cl, but it does not. This is another false positive, and I'm getting a little bit fed up of them.

EDIT: Looks like other people's legitimate, clean software is getting false-positived by Windows Defender for the same trojan:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/pro ... 49bc475bd1
DDRM

Re: Crystal Hunter revitalized

Post by DDRM »

Is the sparkly thing the orb?
David Williams

Re: Crystal Hunter revitalized

Post by David Williams »

DDRM wrote: Sun 15 Aug 2021, 20:47 Is the sparkly thing the orb?
It could be a crystal? Or perhaps even a monster stunner. It's hard to say without knowing exactly what you're referring to. There is an object in the game called a 'power orb' (which is probably a bit of a misnomer), although it doesn't sparkle at all.

Anyway, it's appears that you've somehow got the download past Windows Defender (assuming you've got that running in the background).
DDRM

Re: Crystal Hunter revitalized

Post by DDRM »

Yes, can't remember which dire warnings I had to override. Isn't it flattering that I trust you?

:-)

D
David Williams

Re: Crystal Hunter revitalized

Post by David Williams »

DDRM wrote: Mon 16 Aug 2021, 08:35 Isn't it flattering that I trust you?
The fewer the number of people who trust me, the more chance you have of winning that £100. :idea:
David Williams

Re: Crystal Hunter revitalized

Post by David Williams »

Anyone giving it a go?

I'm bumping up the prize money to £125. Same deadline of 23:59:59 GMT on Thursday 16th September 2021.

The first person to send the game completion passcode to me (dw3231091 AT gmail DOT com) wins the dosh.

I'll post the video of me playing & completing the game on YouTube on September 17th. You'll see it's quite an easy game to complete!
DDRM

Re: Crystal Hunter revitalized

Post by DDRM »

Making some progress, but it's very frustrating....

:-)

D
David Williams

Re: Crystal Hunter revitalized

Post by David Williams »

The original link currently (as of 08-Sep-2021) works, but perhaps not for long because my web hosting provider (tsoHost) claims that their malware scanner has detected malware of some sort (they haven't said what) and that they will soon be automatically deleting the file. The file is clean. The excellent online scanner VirusTotal (https://www.virustotal.com/gui/home/upload) reports no infections and no false positives. A scan with F-Secure comes out clean. So I don't know what the heck tsoHost are on about. Perhaps their scanner (whatever it is) just doesn't like unsigned EXE files? They are also, by the way, going to delete several of my other Zip files (containing WIndows EXEs), but I've checked them as well and they are all clean. I'm not sure how much longer I'm prepared to stay with tsoHost given their overzealous antimalware scanner.

Here's is the original direct link which currently (08-Sep-2021) works:

http://www.proggies.uk/bb4w/downloads/crystalhunter.zip

Here's an indirect backup link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YRSbdK ... sp=sharing

Don't forget to extract the files from the Zip folder first before running the game.