Here's some quick tips on getting the game to run if you're having some trouble.

The game doesn't run/crashes upon startup.

• Right click on the Oil Blue in your Steam Library. Select Properties.
  
• Click on the "Set Launch Options..." button.
  
• In the box, copy and paste the following:
  
  set __COMPAT_LAYER=WIN7RTM
• Press OK, then close and start the game again.

If the above doesn't work:

• Follow the guide above, but change the text in the "Set Launch Options..." box to the following:
  
  set __COMPAT_LAYER=WINXPSP3

If the game continues to not run:

• Try a restart of your computer, then once you're back up right-click on The Oil Blue in your Steam Library and select Properties.
  
• Click on the Local Files tab and then click on "Verify Integrity of Game Cache..."
  
• Once finished, try booting up the game again.

At this point if the game does not run, I'm afraid it won't likely run at all (as the source code for this game was corrupted some time ago, so I won't be able to issue patches for it). Feel free to make a post in the Steam forums or request a Steam Refund right here.

Whenever you run the Achievement Unlocker app (v 1.006), backup copies of all your save files are made. Steam overwrites your game saves whenever you verify the local cache or delete the game, however these backup copies will be protected from that.

To access your save files, run the achievement app at least one time after starting a new game. Then go to your backup save folder located here:


To restore your backup files to your current game, rename all of these files in this folder by removing the "backup_" text from each one. Then copy and paste all of these files to your main Oil Blue datafiles subfolder. To find this, right click on The Oil Blue in your Library on Steam and go to properties. Then click Local Files, and then Browse Local Content. Then click on the datafiles folder and copy your newly renamed saves over to that folder.

The Steam achievements for the game are not popping up as I'm playing the game.

• Because the game uses an old version of Game Maker 7 and the source code was corrupted many years ago, I wasn't able to implement standard achievement unlocks within the game. Instead, you'll need to boot up the Oil Blue helper app. To do so, press Play for the Oil Blue in your Steam Library, then toggle the Oil Blue Achievement Unlocker/Helper App and click Play Game. The program will quickly open and scan your save files to award you achievements.

The Steam overlay does not work within the main game.

• Unfortunately this is a known issue with the older engine the game runs on and cannot be fixed.

Steam Trading Cards are not unlocking.

• With the new Steam Refund guidelines Valve has issued a global change for all games that hold all trading card unlocks for two hours. Once you pass two hours of gameplay time, trading cards will unlock as normal.

If you've purchased the Oil Blue before this Steam release (whether stand alone or with a bundle of some kind), congrats! You're eligible for a free Steam key! Here's how to claim your key:

• Purchased from the Groupees/Shinyloot Bundle: Login to the Groupees site to claim your key. It will be on the Groupees site, and not the Shinyloot site.
  
• Purchased on gamersgate.com (either The Oil Blue or the Vertigo Games Bundle): Login to your GamersGate account. Now click on My Library and select the Oil Blue or the Vertigo Games Bundle. On the following page you'll see a button on the right that says, "Show Serial Key." Click on that for your Steam key!
  
• Purchased on Desura: please send me a PM here[www.desura.com] and I will get back to you with a key within 48 hours. You must message me thru Desura if you have bought the game from that site. This offer is valid as long as Desura stays up and running.
  
• Purchased via the Indie Royale X-Mas Bundle: In order to buy this bundle you needed to create a Desura account. So the same guidelines apply- message me thru Desura with your username here[www.desura.com] and I will get back to you with a key within 48 hours. Be sure to link the game to your account by redeeming the Desura key on the site.
  
• Purchased on IndieGameStand: Login to your account and your Steam Key should be available with your existing purchase.
  
• Purchased on vertigogaming.net (via BMT Micro), any bundle, or other website: Please contact me here[www.vertigogaming.net] and I will try to get you a key within 48 hours. Please be sure to include the email address you used to buy the game.

You can also request a Steam key via vertigogaming.net if you'd like to cover the game on your YouTube or Twitch channel, or any other platform.

Where is the soundtrack that comes included with the game?

• To find this easily, right-click on the Oil Blue in your Steam Library and select Properties.
  
• Click the Local Files tab, and then click on "Browse Local Files..."
  
• The folder titled, "The Oil Blue Soundtrack" contains the MP3 and FLAC versions of the soundtrack.

How do I transfer older saves from previous versions of the Oil Blue to this new Steam release?

• First, navigate to your local Oil Blue Steam folder by following the directions above in the Soundtrack question.
  
• Now in a separate window open your old Oil Blue directory. Go to the datafiles folder.
  
• Make a backup copy of the following save files in another location on your computer just in case:
  
  island1outline.gsmpr island2outline.gsmpr island3outline.gsmpr island4outline.gsmpr island5outline.gsmpr island6outline.gsmpr
• Now copy those six files over to your new Oil Blue Steam folder, in the same datafiles folder. You will need to overwrite the saves in the Steam folder with your saves that you are copying. Do NOT copy over any other files aside from these six!
  
• Run the Oil Blue on Steam and make sure the save files show up in your game correctly.
  
• Quit the game and run the Oil Blue Achievement Unlocker/Helper App to retroactively unlock any achievements you are eligible for! After that you can pick up where you left off and enjoy playing the game within Steam!

Will the game be coming to any other platforms or support additional features in the future?

• As the game's source code was corrupted I'm afraid I cannot expand the release of the game to any more platforms or add any additional features. That said, I do hope you enjoy the new features that I could add to this release, which include the Trading Cards, Achievements and a free copy of the soundtrack!

This is an archival listing of the patches this game has had, which are already included with this release.

v1.041

• Disables the custom mouse cursor (which was locked at 30fps with the framerate) and allows for the standard Windows mouse cursor to be used, GREATLY improving gameplay responsiveness!
  
• This patch has not had an official release up until now! It has been tested thoroughly to make sure there are no additional bugs introduced with this new change.

v1.040
Minor Additions:

• Significantly changed the circle/lasersight repair minigame. The repair is now much, much easier to complete.

Bug Fixes:

• Fixed a bug where if you had three Drill Rigs on one island and transferred oil from the second Drill Rig, the third Drill Rig would function incorrectly.
  
• Fixed a rare bug that would glitch the points on the map of a Drill Rig when leveling it up to level 5, 10, 15 or 20. The points on the map are now automatically cleared when you reach these levels on a Drill Rig.
  
• Fixed the glitch that prevented random minigames from appearing in repair processes.

v1.037
Minor Additions:

• Added a reminder each day that ESCAPE is the pause key.
  
• Made it so that the close button also functions as the escape key.
  
• Changed the rotating text on the top banner when you're meeting a financial objective. The game accidentally showed a barrel objective instead.
  
• Balanced the difficulty to make it slightly more challenging later on in the game after rank 35 instead of 20.
  
• Tuned the laser-sight-in-the-circle repair game so it's not quite as difficult.

Bug Fixes:

• Tuned up the pause feature so that "Please Wait" only appears during an underwater transition.
  
• Recoded the left-right derrick buttons. A rare bug could occur that would disable the left/right arrows at certain times.
  
• Recoded the end of day stress level/repairs function. A rare bug could occur that would leave the derrick machine disabled into the next work day w/o repairing it.
  
• Fixed a small bug that rewarded you with art on Rank 13, instead of Rank 14 as it's supposed to.
  
• Coded a stopping procedure for ranks when you reach Rank 0. Not sure how anyone could actually reach that rank, but better safe than sorry!
  
• Fixed a small bug with the repair tutorial that allowed the player to leave a repair window open after skipping the tutorial.

v1.036 and below

• All fixes for these patches were done pre-release, as the game launched with 1.037 being the base version. Hundreds of bugs were squashed for v1.000 thru 1.036. Woo!