Some titles require you to set the CD-i clock!!
Sadly, many of our CD-i players no longer have a working timekeeper. Some people have managed to fix this issue with skill and ingenuity(here, here and here), but for those people who are happy to keep their player as it is, without being able to save high scores, please note that certain titles that I've identified recently require you to set the time 🙂
I usually play Earth Command at Christmas! 2022 was the first year that my 740 player no longer had a working battery. For some reason, Earth Command wouldn't play - I just had a blank screen. I realised that the game monitors how long you're in post as Commander, and displays the date at the top of the screen - and this relates to the timekeeper! So you must set the time before loading the CD-i!!
But without a doubt, the most bizarre aspect relating to the timekeeper is that of trying to play Interactive Video Charts 1995. I first discovered these titles back in the early/mid 2000's but for some strange reason, no 1995 discs would play on any of my machines - apart from the FW380i. Why? 1994, 1996 and 1997 discs all played fine! In the last month or so, I realised that, to play these 1995 titles, the clock must be set to the year 1995 🙂 So, if the timekeeper is still working, the CD-is won't play! And if the time is not set, or is set to 2023, they also won't work. Go back in time to 1995 though and, hey presto, you'll be able to enjoy fantastic music videos from the 'club classics' era 😉
If there are any other CD-i titles that you know of that require setting the clock, please do let us know!