Briefcase is our debut game. The object of this puzzle game is to pack a briefcase with a various set of items presented in each increasingly difficult level. At first you might think it is easy, but try our 3-level demo (click Free Demo on the navigation bar above) and you will see that it can be not as trivial as it seems at first.
Our goal for this game was to create a simple puzzle game that could appeal to a wide range of players. Many of the levels in the beginning are trivial to solve, however as you progress to the final level the difficulty increases.
You will encounter many different objects that you will need to fit into the briefcase to finish the level, including tennis balls, hair dryers, screw drivers and more. The full version contains 50 levels. The demo version includes only 3 levels, it's not much but we think it makes a clear statement of what the game is about. We encourage you to try the demo of this game before actually buying it. Please see Minimum System Requirements for more important information.
Please read the readme.txt file provided with your full version of Briefcase for complete instructions before playing.
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Name: Briefcase 0.9 (demo). Info: 3 original levels not included in full game, time-challenge mode is absent. Download: briefcase-0.9-demo.exe (1.32MB) |
BriefcaseEdit is a level editor for Briefcase. We used BriefcaseEdit to design all levels for the full and demo versions of this game. The download also includes instructions on how to create your own levels. One thing to note is that you need at least the demo version of this game (but preferably the full verson with all items) to use this tool as it doesn't provide the item (.itm) files with the download. The itm files are 16-bit bitmaps renamed to .itm extension used to identify things you put into the briefcase. After you have downloaded BriefcaseEdit, find manual.txt in its default directory to read the (in)complete instructions on how to use this tool; this file also explains how to create your own items and add them to the game.
Please be warned, this is a BETA version; We will not answer e-mails with any questions related to using this tool. We are only releasing this tool as a free add-on to the game, to expand the interest for this game. This is only an experimental release and this tool is not very user-friendly but it's not that hard to figure out either. For these reasons, at this stage this is likely for advanced users only.
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Name: BriefcaseEdit 1.0b Info: Create your own Briefcase puzzles. Download: bc-edit-1.0b.exe (537kb) |
At this point we won't provide any additional information on this tool other than manual.txt which contains information on everything you need to start making your own levels. If people show enough interest in it we will continue supporting it.
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Name: Briefcase 1.1 Update (march 27, 2003) Info: Updates Briefcase to version 1.1 Download: briefcase-1.1-update.exe (394kb)
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Read the official Strategy Guide v1.1 now and discover your hidden briefcase genius that you thought you've never had! Left-click the link to read it directly on this page or right-click and save it to your disk.
Find your Briefcase-related question in the list below, and if you can't see it here, e-mail us to our FAQ e-mail address: faq@falloutsoftware.com and we will answer it within 24 hours, but usually a lot less since we spend 90% of our time at our computers. If you have a technical problem with Briefcase or Briefcase demo, we will work on the problem personally until it is fixed (if it is humanly possible and to the best of our knowledge) or cannot be resolved due to inconsistencies of your computer system.
I can't place an item into the Briefcase when I know it should fit!
In version 1.0, there was a bug that wouldn't let you place items into some empty spaces. Download the Briefcase 1.1 Update to patch this bug. This shouldn't be an issue if you purchased Briefcase after March 27, '03. If you're just having a difficulty of understanding how it works, read on.
Some people will just have a trouble fitting objects into places. This is a rare question but we felt like it had to be included for convenience. On very rare occasion people have asked us why they cannot put an item into a place that seems big enough to fit into. The way it works technically, is that each object is constrained to an invisible grid-based square shape, no matter how round it is. For example a golf ball takes up a one-unit square on the grid. Since a golf ball is a round object it will not fit into that square space filling up %100 of it. As a result you will see some empty spaces. In bigger objects, these spaces are emphasized more, for example a screw driver has a very thin part, however that part still occupies a line of one-unit squares! You will see a lot of space that looks empty around that part of a screw driver, although you cannot place objects into that part.
We try our best to provide you with smooth gameplay. However there are a few expectancies from your computer. Your computer must have at least 4MB of Video Memory on your video card. The way Briefcase video memory management system works is it stores all of the graphics it can in Video Memory. If the video memory on your video card runs out (and it will, if you have less than 4MB), Briefcase starts to load the rest of the graphics into the System Memory. However, any of the graphics stored in the computer system memory will cause a slowdown because it takes time to transfer system memory to video memory physically. So as you can see, the less video memory you have the bigger chances of getting a slowdown. Generally, if you have 4 or more megabytes of video memory, you're all set. However, this doesn't always mean if you have more than 4MB of video memory you won't experience a slowdown. Another reason for this is that your computer doesn't meet the minimum system specification required to run Briefcase.
What to do if you don't know how much video memory your computer has or you don't know your computer's system specification, but still want to play Briefcase? The answer is simple, download the DEMO version of Briefcase (look around this page) and see if it works. If the demo does run smoothly on your computer, the full version will also work just as well.
As a reminder, the slowdown will occur if:
Your video card has less than 4MB of video memory.
Your computer doesn't meet the minimum system requirements listed below.
What are the minimum system requirements to play this game?
Windows 95/98/98se/Me/2000/XP (haven't tested on NT)
Pentium 266Mhz with 16MB RAM
DirectX 3
DirectDraw Compatible video card with 4MB of video memory
DirectSound Compatible sound card
(This is a description of a computer with the minimum requirements we tested Briefcase to work with and it worked fine. If you're not sure what it all means, download the demo and see if it works on your computer, this will let you know that the full version will aslo work on your system)
I want to make sure this game will work on my computer before I buy it
We try to make our games work on as many computers as we possibly can. However we don't have an access to certain types of computers (with certain unusual features, such as no video card or not having enough video memory). Therefore we cannot guarantee that our software will work on your computer in particular. To resolve this problem we always offer a demo of our games. If the demo works on your computer, the full version will work just as well. In fact, we encourage everyone to play the demo before buying the full-version game.
When I start Briefcase the screen goes black and then it exits back to the desktop
Make sure your computer meets the minimum requirement also found in the FAQ. This type of occurance can be caused by a wide variety of problems. Most of the time when such an event occurs, the problem is with the HARDWARE and/or not meeting the minimum requirements to run the game. Make sure you installed this game correctly and none of the files are corrupted. If a reinstall doesn't help, contact us directly via e-mail with a brief description of your computer (processor type, processor speed, RAM, video card and available video memory) and attach the briefcase.log file that was created (after an unsuccessful execution) in the same directory you installed Briefcase to, and we will try to fix this problem. It's in our own interests fixing such problems because we don't want the following players with the same computer configurations go through the same problems and obviously we want our games to run on as many computers as possible. We recommend trying the game demo before buying the full-version of the game to avoid refunds. If the demo doesn't run on your system, that means that the game won't run also. Please read Briefcase minimum system requirements!
The game crashes when I ALT-TAB
This issue is still present on some computers. As far as we know it, on some computers (not all, however), the game will crash if you will keep ALT-TABing a few times (usually more than 8). At this moment we cannot resolve this problem but we're working on gathering all information we can to understand why this happens. This could possibly relate to the amount of video memory on your video card. We will try to fix this bug in future software updates.
Briefcase disables all sounds if it cannot initialize the sound system (which is based on the generic DirectSound implementation); this is commonly caused by your HARDWARE failure. Sound problems are probably the most hardest to identify correctly. First of all make sure that it is possible to play sound on your computer in general and the sound card is working properly. This kind of problem would occur almost definitely due to the HARDWARE failure. If you're sure your sound hardware is working properly, try closing any other sound-related program that could be running in the background that could interfere with Briefcase's sound system, such as WinAmp or Windows Media Player, etc. Restart your computer. If the sound still doesn't work there is really not much we can do with the software. In any case, if the game is working and is sound-less, you're not missing too much. Briefcase only has some basic clicking and dropping sounds.
The intro AVI movie doesn't show up
This problem will occur if the software cannot decode the video file(s) provided with Briefcase. This usually means that your system doesn't have the Microsoft Video 1 codec installed on your system. However this is a rare reason for this problem because most Windows OS versions come with this codec by default. Make sure all video-recording or any other video-related programs are not present in the background when you run Briefcase.
I felt the full version was too short, I want more levels!
There is a possibility that we will work on a low-cost level add-on for Briefcase. It will definitely help us to decide whether to do it or not if you e-mail us and tell us that you want it. We just want to give it a little more time to see how many people are interested.
Can I create my own puzzle levels for Briefcase?
Yes, go to Level Editor on the naviagation bar above and download BriefcaseEdit which comes with instructions on how to make your own levels, but make sure you read all provided information.
We have utilized KAGI services to provide you with a secure online ordering form. You will receive a message on your e-mail address with your payment information along with Briefcase Downloading Instructions within minutes after your order.
Click here to buy Briefcase.
We want to use this opportunity to thank you for being interested in our products.
