Thank you for buying and playing The Cat Lady!
It is recommended that new players use the provided setup program (winsetup.exe) and change the Graphics Renderer (Driver) to OpenGL or Software Renderer. You can right click on your Steam library list and select "Setup The Cat Lady". It should be the first option on the top left, in a pulldown menu.
Switching graphics renderer/driver to OpenGL/Software Renderer should prevent the game from crashing when using Alt + Tab. OpenGL or Software Renderer may not be available/work very well on some systems, in which case you will need to stick with the default (Direct3D 9) renderer.
If you still experience artifacts and other strangeness with OpenGL, you can also try the Software Renderer option. We believe the Alt+Tab issue is associated with the Direct3D 9 driver setting only.
If using Direct3D 9, it is best to press Alt + Enter (to enter Windowed mode) and then you should be able to Alt + Tab without issues. When you're ready to play the game in full screen, just press Alt + Enter again over the maximized windowed mode game screen.
The issue most likely lies with an experimental module that connects to Direct3D 9 driver to prevent screen tearing. And trust us, you do not want to play this game with screen tearing. Its full screen mode may not be playing nicely anymore/on some systems.
Please note: Selecting OpenGL may improve Alt + Tab stability but it may remove the screen tearing prevention. Unfortunately this module was never fully released, so it is what it is, instabilities and all.
We apologize that this issue affects a large number of players, fixing it is simple and straightforward. The default setting may be updated to OpenGL in due course, but for now selecting it manually is required. Some players may need to switch graphics renderer and sound device away from DirectX options, and also set MIDI music to disabled. Such is the folly of old games on newer hardware. And yes, random person, no sign of a Unity remake either. Hey, you said it - not me!
Yet with all that said, we hope you enjoy the blue screen...uhh...game! Yeah, that's right. Enjoy the game :)
Sincerely,
Screen 7 Videogames - "60% of the time, they work every time."
