Q: Why are you still maintaining the classic version of Hollow Ground?
A: We are maintaining it because many of our users have not made the switch to the newer hardware and system software that is required by Hollow Ground Special Edition. The original Hollow Ground was released in October 2003 and is now considered legacy by Team Aescapia. It was optimized to run on low-end hardware. Hollow Ground is using software rendering and running at a pretty decent frame rate on old low-end iMacs. If you are not using an Intel Mac or the latest versions of Mac OS X, the original version of Hollow Ground might be the best alternative.

Q: Why have you introduced Hollow Ground Special Edition?
A: Hollow Ground is using software rendering and running at a pretty decent frame rate on old low-end iMacs. It does, however, not take advantage of the powerful graphics hardware acceleration found in almost every Macs today. Instead of hacking the old code, we joined forces with developer Blackwight to do a complete rewrite of the Hollow Ground engine. The result is Hollow Ground Special Edition, which is using OpenGL and is running native on both Intel and PowerPC Macs. Hollow Ground Special Edition also adds hundreds of new features and new content. If you are using an Intel Mac, Special Edition is the best alternative.

Why do I get a “File ‘Map01’ is missing!” error message even though this map file is located in the ‘maps’ folder?
This is a glitch! We have now uploaded a new 1.2.6 download package that should fix this problem. You can also fix it by moving the ‘maps’ folder from the ‘lib’ folder to the Hollow Ground game folder.

Why do I get a “Failed to open a file!” error message when I launch the application for the first time?
Make sure that you copied the Hollow Ground folder from the disk image (.dmg) or a CD-ROM coverdisk to somewhere on your hard drive. The game application can not launch from the write protected disk image or a CD-ROM etc.

Why do I get a “Hollow Ground is too old to run editor” error message if I have Hollow Ground 1.2.5 installed?
This is a bug! Download HollowEd 1.0.2 or later. You can also fix it by moving the ‘maps’ folder from the ‘lib’ folder to the Hollow Ground game folder. Hollow Ground can find the ‘maps’ folder in either place.

It is no longer recommended to move the maps folder.

How can I decompress (unstuff) the .sit file archive if my web browser doesn’t do it automatically?
Double-click the “HollowGround.sit” icon. However, this might also indicate that you don’t have StuffIt Expander installed. You can download it for free at

www.allume.com

Why do I get a ‘file missing error’ when I decompress (unstuff) the .sit file archive?
This is a bug in some versions of StuffIt. You can change the file suffix to ‘.sitx’ and double-click the file archive again. The archive is actually in .sitx format, but the proper file suffix is not recognized by most web browsers, causing them to dump the whole 21 MB file as text directly in the browser window. Renaming the file suffix to just .sit avoids this and should work on most new versions of SuffIt.

Why are you no longer using .sit archives?
We will soon offer many different types of file archives, including sitx and zip.

Which is the latest version of the game?
The latest version of Hollow Ground for MacOS X is 1.2.6. The latest version for MacOS 9 is 1.1.

When can I expect a new version of Hollow Ground for MacOS 9?
Aescapia has discontinued all future development of the MacOS 9 version. However, the source code is open so anyone is free to bring the OS 9 version up to date with the latest OS X version.

Why does my old save file no longer work when I update the game to the latest version?
This is a bug in Hollow Ground 1.2.5 and earlier versions. If you rename or remove any map files that was present when you saved a game, that save no longer works until you restore the map file(s). Update to version 1.2.6 or later.

Why does my monitor just go completely black as I launch the game?
Monitor gamma fades in Hollow Ground 1.2.3 and earlier versions are not compatible with MacOS X 10.4 (Tiger). Upgrading your software to version 1.2.5 or later solves the problem.

Why is the graphics so annoyingly dark that it is hard to make anything out?
Colors are described in device-dependent terms, which cause the same blend on one monitor to display a very different color on a different monitor. The color representation and brightness of CRT monitors also tend to change over time. You can either modify the system-wide monitor settings in your System Preferences or use the built-in Screen Brightness setting in Hollow Ground. You might have to experiment with both to get a perfect color representation. Just remember that some Hollow Ground levels are supposed to be dark and gloomy!

How can I make the graphics brighter without having to change the system-wide monitor brightness in my System Preferences?
The Screen Brightness setting is only available in the MacOS X version. It allows you to adjust the brightness of the game’s graphics if you have a particularly dark or light monitor. Select Preferences from the Main Menu or the Pause Menu.