Monday 19 December 2011

How To Play Riven On Mac OSX

I apologize in advance if I've accidentally already made a post like this one.

If you're a Myst-loving Mac user like me, you'll be very frustrated that you can't play most of the Myst games on modern Macs. When it comes to Riven, unless you're willing to wait for realRiven (StarryExpanse.com), there's only one option:


Thanks to the work of a few dedicated individuals, there is now a simple application which allows you to insert your Riven disc(s), and it then installs it so you can play it any time. It's very good, it works with Lion, Snow Leopard, Things, Stuff.
Anyway. So I tried installing it a few months ago, but, much to my dismay, when it finished processing all the discs, the files would self-destruct without warning. So I thought, well, I'll just copy the files over manually. It can't be that hard. I did so, and it was able to play. However, I hit yet another roadblock. Whenever it got to the point where my five-disc version would ask you to insert disc 1, the game crashed. So I decided, arr, the loot belongs to us, matey! In other words, I gave up and pirated the DVD version. It was so much easier. I have no idea why I didn't just do that in the first place. From there, I did the automatic install, and it worked perfectly. Summary: don't use CDs. Use the internet.
Anyway, I'd recommend this method for anyone who doesn't want to spend time looking for their disc(s), trying to get the formatting right or whatever you might have to do. Or, if you have a MacBook Air like me, or any other computer lacking an optical drive, do it as well! So, here are the necessary links:

Riven X:

Click me!

Riven DVD Edition Torrent:

Download!

And, if you've been in a coma for the past 10 years:

Shame on you! (just kidding)

13 comments:

  1. Hey, I realize you made this post over a year ago, so maybe you won't see this. But I'm in the same situation - I'd love to play Riven, I have the newest OS, and I don't have the discs anymore. So I did what you suggested and downloaded Riven X as well as the Riven torrent. But the torrent doesn't work - Riven X tries to install and then says that the archive is invalid. Sorry for the long comment, but I would love some guidance with this!

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    1. Hmm, maybe there's some problem with one of the torrent's seeders. I believe I still have the DMG from the torrent - I'll try uploading it tonight and will update the post.

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    2. That would be wonderful - thanks! I really appreciate the speedy response.

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    3. any luck?

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    4. I haven't had time to access the computer which has that file on it - I should be able to by the end of the weekend.

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  2. Ah okay, no rush!

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  3. The file is now uploading - it may take a while though. I'll update the post once it's finished.

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  4. I can't download anything. Under the "downloads" tab it says "Riven X does not have any download files registered with Launchpad."

    I downloaded the RDF metadata, thinking it might... you know, help? But there's no application on my computer that can open it.

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    1. Hmm, it looks like the project has become abandoned. Luckily I still have the file on my old computer, here's the google drive link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4IJyP_Ubn53ejBja0NRT2dlSWM/view?usp=sharing

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  5. Please. Please. Do this again. I'm desperate to play Riven on my MacBook and Cyan has not made it easy (who would want to play this on an iPad?).
    You are the only person I've found on the net that seems to have a clear idea of how to do that.
    Hear the whining in my voice
    Imagine the gratitude.

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    1. Okay, so I wrote this quite a while so the links and stuff are probably outdated but I was still able to run riven a couple months ago, so I assume riven x hasn't been broken by an OS X update.

      There's a link in the comments here to the riven x application on google drive, but if it doesn't work I still have it and I'd be happy to email it to you. If you have the riven DVD version, you should be able to just insert the disk and then riven X will find it, otherwise you'll need to torrent it - the original link I put up looks to be gone but I'm sure you can find it on thepiratebay.

      There seems to be a lot of interest in this so I might post a more comprehensive guide somewhere. Feel free to reply here with whatever questions you might have.

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