Viva Pinata one buck on Games for Windows today, Blacklight: Tango Down tomorrow

@Cobra4455

BTW there is proof of the Blacklight: Tango Down deal here:

http://www.microsoft.com/games/en-US/feeds/rss.xml

@Cobra4455 It was only a tip though. so it doesnt even count....

@branDONEson
:)

@sicsided

I understand why Cobra was downvoted but still, i use CD cracks for all of my games even though i own the discs. PAYING for a CD crack is like paying for someones snot. Cracks are so easy a blind monkey could make them on most games.

@Cobra4455

Why am I being DR'ed?
Having it be I already own a license for Viva Pinata and my internet connection is only 1.5Mb/s, this crack seems like a much better and legal option for me instead of paying a dollar for another copy of the game and waiting ~10.62 hours for this game to download assuming I am downloading this 7GB game at max speeds.

They are downvoting you because from the address they assume it's to pirate it.

It isn't. It's for a crack for a legit copy. I have games I own myself that require the CD only for a CD check, and I have cracked some of them. Pain in the butt to pull out a CD just to play a game for a few minutes, then put it away again.

If you own the game yourself, there is nothing wrong with cracking it.

I have both the Xbox and PC versions of this game, and your thought was exactly like mine before purchasing the PC version.

Unfortunately, Microsoft and Rare did NOT revamp the controls to be mouse-oriented. Instead they implemented a WASD type control scheme to map out the Xbox style controls. On the plus side, if you have a wired 360 gamepad you can plug it in and the game will have the same controls as the Xbox version.

Also the game is heavily unoptimized and requires beefy graphics card hardware to run smoothly. But the tradeoff is you can potentially play the game at much higher resolutions than the 360 version's 720p resolution, if you got the right video card. The higher resolutions make managing your garden much more intuitive.

@Lone Starr I bought the original twice and VIP...loved both games so much.

I didn't even know there were windows versions.

@Lone Starr

I found it at a garage sale for $1. I never thought I'd see it being sold that cheap again! :)

@Faceless Troll
Don't wait for it, even for a dollar your money is better spent elsewhere with that game.

@aray48

do you have your default drive set correctly?

@Punkrawk Bbob
yeah.

@aray48 I had the same issue with Age of Empires the other week. I still have no idea how to fix the issue.

@aray48
Usually more than 3x space is required when installing content / games. This is because it has to be able to download the compressed files, unpack the install files, and then actually install the game. Some of the files are kept around temporarily until the game is fully installed in case something goes wrong so you don't have to star the download over again.
Try changing these settings to a drive where more space is available in the GFW Marketplace Client under 'Settings':
Downloads Directory
Games Directory
Game Add-ons Directory

@Invigilator

Viva Pinata IS worth your money and time though so its a good deal.

@Invigilator

Or you live on a budget? Crazy thought.

@Vault Boy

You actually can purchase MS Points with paypal on xbox.com

Just go to the below link and click "Add a PayPal Account"

https://live.xbox.com/en-US/Flows/EditCreditCard/SelectPaymentInstrument.aspx

@Vault Boy Can I use my PayPal account to obtain Microsoft Points?
If you have a U.S. account, you can associate one or more PayPal accounts in Manage Payment Options. Then, when you add Microsoft Points to your Xbox LIVE Account, you can select your PayPal account as a payment instrument.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/marketplace/faq

@Flapjackal
Ah, that's probably the problem then, I'm Canadian and it looks like it's only for Americans.

@Istari Spartan

It's a deceptively deep, difficult Simulation game. Attracting rare Pinatas takes tons of experimentation and planning.

Or you could use a guide but whatever.

@Drakkenfyre
Being a fanboy to one particular console is bad enough but why would you refuse to give money to other download services when they're providing great deals for great games?

This is exactly why many retailers have been complaining about Steam monopolizing the market.

I'm also not sure why so many are complaining about GFWL. Very few of the games going up on these sales even use it beyond as a download client.. and even for games like this, you use it to launch it, then it sits in the background and does little.

"Here, sign up for this service, create a name, create a profile, put in an email address, let us spam you. Then download this program that will want to start up with your system, and must be run every time you play the game. All for one game."

No.

When you have a bunch of games on one platform already, you don't want to download and install another for ONE game.

@Drakkenfyre
Actually, that is not accurate. Please allow me to explain a few things that are misunderstood about the GFW Marketplace. Unlike Steam you do not need to sign-in or launch the GFW Marketplace Client to launch the games that you have purchased through our Marketplace. Once the game is installed it as if it was installed by a disk, but you don't need the disk to play. Any game purchased through the Games for Windows Marketplace can be launched through the Start menu or through the Games Explorer in Windows. You just need the Client to download and install the game.

Some titles use Games for Windows - LIVE as their multiplayer component within the game, but even those you don't need to sign-in to launch or even play the game (you can create an 'offline profile' if you don't want to connect to LIVE or create a LIVE account). Multiplayer and gaining achievements will require an in-game login, but almost all games now require that for those features. GFWL also supports LIVE profiles signing in ‘offline’ so you can continue your game and earn achievements even if you don’t have an internet connection at that moment.

Also the the Client does not start up with your system. It only starts when you launch it or it may launch in a background 'wait' mode if a game is running that uses the GFWL service, once the game ends it shuts down. You can also opt out during sign-up for news and information about GFWL so there is no 'spam'.

So Games for Windows Marketplace actually provides a bit more flexibility to the user in launching and playing your game without having to launch a client or sign-in compared to Steam.

And there's the catch, I don't want a Live account.

So for full functionality of the game, I would have to create one. Any any other game, I would have to have one. That's why I didn't buy BioShock 2, it forces you to have a Live account as well. I don't want a Live account.

@Flapjackal
I had that problem but after logging in, checking the link again, clicking the game link and adding it to my cart from its separate page, not adding it to my cart on the "deal" page, it came up correctly.

Not sure what event made it work, but there they are.

@bargaingamer
Some users have seen their download issues fixed after installing .Net 4.0. You can also visit this webpage, if that doesn't help call GFW Customer Support or visit the GFW forums.

http://www.gamesforwindows.com/en-US/Support/Games-for-Windows-Marketplace-Client-Download-Help/

@Desraedos
That stage (5%) can take a long time as the game is prepped for installation. Feel free to call GFW Customer Support or visit the forums to help find a resolution.
http://www.gamesforwindows.com/en-US/Support/

@Zacxx201

Never mind, I fixed it. If you have the same problem as me ( using Windows 7 ) do what this guy said and it will work after.

"First download this: http://www.monstrmoose.com/download.php?f=H2VWin7Fix.exe

It's meant to fix windows 7 to work with Halo 2 but it did the trick for Viva Pinata.

After it's downloaded make sure to right click the file, go to Properties and then the Compatibility tab. At the bottom will be a check box for "Run this program as an administrator; check it, hit ok, the run the program. It should do it's thing and then end with a "fix complete, computer can run Halo now" statement.

Now it should pull up windows live when you run the game."

@Zacxx201

So I tried this method and the Home key nor the guide button work. Im at a loss of what to do. A google search just brings up the exact same methods and those who still have the problem after this particular fix are either ignored or people don't know :\

anyone else have some ideas, please?

@Nuts4Ford

This only works for Windows 7 ( I don't know your OS). Make sure you have the run this as admin checked. Then run it. After running it open up GFWL and start your game. Works for me, I just have to run it every time I start up my computer.

@Zacxx201
Windows 7 64 bit and yes I ran it in administrator. The runs adn it says you can now close this and play halo 2 yadda yadda.

But GFWL still does not work in Viva.

@Nuts4Ford

I'm out of ideas, restart the computer? I'd just call support now if I were you and explain that you've tried this trick already, maybe they'll help you or refund your money. http://www.gamesforwindows.com/en-US/Support/Contact-Support/