Wonder if this could be an nvidia issue? I updated to the latest drivers which caused my game to get all garbled. I had to tinker with the Nvidia profile to correct this. At this point I realized that Nvidia thinks this game is Cossacks, based on the executable. Seems like they have also changed it so you can't remove the profiles of games that Nvidia "knows". Also tried to mess around with Nhancer but since it loads Nvidias profiles, I had the same results (two profiles on the same executable with a warning that it was in use).

But... after messing with Nvidia I was able to get back to where I was on the latest drivers. Which is a game that runs, plays cutscenes, renders the game world, plays dialogue, and generally works in every way except for showing my character on screen.

..,. except that I have an ATI card.

Meanwhile I was asked to install the DirectX June 2010 package, too - which I did, without success.

I wonder what's preventing the people from being shown - talking with the invisible guys (Kostov, guards) is possible, though. What about movement? What's supposed to happen when you press forward? And why isn't it happening? Odd! :-(

I can hear the movement. Both the footsteps and the audio getting closer and farther away. I think everything works except the ability to see the characters that are there.

I bought this game yesterday and installed it this morning, only to find that I also had the "invisible people" bug. I could interact with the first NPC in the game (despite not being able to see him) and also move around and hear myself walking, etc. But, obviously, this wasn't any good because I couldn't see myself.

Deonast's post about Data Execution Prevention is spot-on.

As soon as I added engine.exe to the exceptions list in the DEP configuration, I launched the game and sure enough, I could see every NPC and myself. Brilliant!

I should note that I am on Vista 64 and am using an Nvidia card, if anyone cares. I think it's mostly a DEP problem though, so that should be your FIRST consideration when trying to fix this. It's an incredibly simple process.

Good luck!

Good for you - but it didn't help in my case.
GOG Support told me I had tried everything they could think of - end of the story.

I’m trying again. Maybe someone else has found a solution meanwhile. After I didn’t manage to get ICB to run successfully, I’ve now re-installed the game. No change - as was to be expected. I managed to find a short video in YouTube which showed me what the first couple of minutes of ICB are supposed to look like.
Looks like my game runs fine – except that there a no people to be seen, and I can’t move. I see the opening screen with the building. It’s static, except for the blinking sign in the upper right and the smoke in the upper left. The DEL key (for the Remora) works, and I can speak with Kostov. After my conversation with him, I hear him offering cigarettes to the guards. That’s all. I don’t see him (or my character), and I can’t get to the next screen (right in front of the portal , according to the video) by using the movement keys.
I tried compatibility modes, DEP, UAC, turn off processors, etc, everything that was proposed in this thread, without any success.
Have any new ideas come up?

Reinstalling DX9 worked for me.

I know this is an old thread & post, but I wanted to relate my own problem and solution in case anyone ever looks here for a solution to this problem:

I had the same issue and picking the first choice for DEP in Win10 worked for me(the one that says "Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only"). I also then rebooted(this needs to be done, NOT just changing the setting), and it worked flawlessly.

(It is also likely that adding the exception in DEP[If one picks the second DEP choice] also needs a system reboot to work....at least in Win10)

Thanks for replying, even after so many years.
Rebooting didn't help me at the time. Meanwhile I have a different PC, and the game runs fine on this PC.

Not a problem.

That's good to hear....despite the game's flaws it is imo a decent enough game & it can be very fun to play sometimes.