[MoriartyL]

Is there any way for the meeting with Kronos to go well?

[MoriartyL]

Who is Putnik, and why don't I see his room anywhere?

[MoriartyL]

Arg! Even with the scroll, and the scarf, and every piece of dialogue I could find, and breaking into a few people's rooms, and eavesdropping on everything I could find to eavesdrop on, and reading Sophie's diary, and starting to understand who the characters are, the game still isn't giving me anything! Now, not only did I get to Epernay as quickly as the first time I tried, but I didn't even get to any fight! Please. Please! What am I supposed to be doing?

[ozzie]

Some time ago that I played this game.
I'm not sure how many alternative paths or endings there are (aside from the endings where you definitely lose) and I didn't encounter any different ways to handle situations on my first playthrough, so the game felt very linear.

I have to agree with MoriartyL that the controls are confusing. In some rooms you can look up, into the smallest corners and in all directions while in other room you are very limited to where to look. This inconsistency is very annoying.
I can understand why it's not possible to look around in all directions, 360°, since it's not possible with those rotoscoped characters. But this made the game a bit more annoying.

Another annoyance: When you're in the hallway and hit the mouse button multiple times so you walk it down fast the game will often take you further than you intended, probably rushing through the half train.
I didn't like the rotoscoped style personally. Yes, it looks great on stills, but the slow "animation" definitely hurt my eyes!
Oh, and it was very irritating that you got no reaction when you tried to combine inventory items with certain things or couldn't even pull them out of your inventory except in certain situations. Another inconsistency that drove me nuts one time

Spoiler:

when you had to defuse the bomb

.

It feels like the game design was constrained by the possibilities of the time. Today, with good-looking realtime graphics you wouldn't have the same problems.

So, TLE isn't my favorite game, but I don't think that it is too hard or expects too much from the player. Yes, you die a lot of times and some situations are only solvable with trial and error, but you just have to accept that you aren't in full control of what's happening. The clock is ticking even if you have no clue what's going on, the characters do their own thing independent of what you are doing (well, mostly anyway).

It's a fascinating game, but deeply flawed too.

[Fien]

Sheesh... no need to start over just to find the scroll. Sorry, Moriarty, I can see my attempts to help you are not very successful. I'll shut up and let someone else give you hints.

[Fien]

Originally Posted by ozzie

...I didn't encounter any different ways to handle situations on my first playthrough, so the game felt very linear.

Well, that's pretty normal, isn't it. Why would the player be immediately aware there's more than one solution? Same thing with the so-called "optional" puzzles I've seen in other adventures: you don't realize they are optional until you've solved them.

Another annoyance: When you're in the hallway and hit the mouse button multiple times so you walk it down fast the game will often take you further than you intended, probably rushing through the half train.

No, it's a short-cut. When you double-click just once, the game takes you to the next car. If you keep double-clicking, then yes, you'll probably be taken to the end of the train.

[MoriartyL]

I think most of the problems I have with this game wouldn't be there if there were just some sort of light script for you to act out as you play, letting you know what sort of things Cath would or would not be likely to do next. (That way, if things turn out less than satisfying, you can only blame yourself for not being in character.)

With the absence of such a guide, I'm looking to you guys to tell me what the heck I'm supposed to be doing. It's looking distinctly as though you see that as a bother, so I'm leaning toward starting over for the fifth time with a walkthrough.

[MoriartyL]

Originally Posted by Fienepien

No, it's a short-cut. When you double-click just once, the game takes you to the next car. If you keep double-clicking, then yes, you'll probably be taken to the end of the train.

Oh, that's good to know. I was wondering why that kept happening.

[DustyShinigami]

I decided to use a walkthrough when i played this game for the first time. I think i got about half-way through and kept dying, plus i missed out certain things which would've helped me to progress further. Even though it seems like a nice idea, i didn't particularly enjoy having to be in certain places at certain times in order to get some background info. I missed out quite a bit. I died so much and got completely lost time and time again, i thought... bugger it, i'll use a walkthrough.

It's a good game but definitely not one of my favourites either. Hopefully next time i play through it i'll enjoy it more. The story confused me quite a bit and even i found it too tedious to read through the newspaper clippings. Like i said, hopefully i'll have more of an understanding of everything next time and be able to appreciate the story. The historic background went completely over my head.
As for the animation, i don't particularly like everything being 1 frame per second in every sequence. I think it would have been better if the characters were animated in the same way as they are when you see them walking down the train's corridors. I, too, found the time limit a bit off-putting. I prefer to be able to do things in my own time without being rushed. There were a few times where i'd done things a bit too soon and had to wait around for the next event to take place. I kept going backwards and forwards to see if there was anything else i could do but there just didn't seem like anything. There was hardly any indication as to what the hell i was supposed to do.

But apart from that, a good game.

[MoriartyL]

Originally Posted by Alucard

There was hardly any indication as to what the hell i was supposed to do.

But apart from that, a good game.

Yeah, that sums it up. Interesting, but frustrating on a fundamental level.

[MoriartyL]

I think I'd much rather play this game without Robert Cath in it. The sense of danger to myself makes it uncomfortable to wander around and nose into other people's business, and nosing into other people's business seems to be half the point of the game so far. The whole heist seems to be trying to give us motivation for watching the other people, but we don't need motivation. Leave a player alone on a small train with lots of strange people who are getting into conflict with each other, and of course he'll be interested.

By the way, I'm going back through with a walkthrough now.

[MoriartyL]

Oh.

The walkthrough tells me I only missed a few things (which I would have considered tiny and not cared about if I didn't know they're going to have a disproportionately large impact on the plot), and nothing particularly impressive is supposed to happen yet. Also, it looks like the ride to Epernay is really short, which makes me wonder why there was surprise that I got there quickly.

If I didn't have this walkthrough, I might have gone through the whole thing one or two more times without finding anything, concluded that I was missing some huge piece without which the story was incomplete, cursed the developers, and uninstalled. I think I'm going to keep this walkthrough handy.



To repeat my questions:

When Cath first meets Schmidt, how does he already know who he is?

Is there any way for the meeting with Kronos to go well?

Who is Putnik, and why don't I see his room anywhere?

[MoriartyL]

Wow, this is a cool game!

When do we do the next section?

[Kurufinwe]

Originally Posted by MoriartyL

When Cath first meets Schmidt, how does he already know who he is?

That's a bug in the game's logic (which I also encountered this time). If you spend some time around Tyler's cabin at the beginning, the conductor comes to you and, thinking you're Tyler, and tells you that Schmidt is waiting for you in the restaurant car. But if you go there without having first been told that, the game still behaves as if you had got the message.

Is there any way for the meeting with Kronos to go well?

No. You'll deal with Kronos again later.

And Mory, you need to learn to stop worrying (and love the bomb? )! This isn't an Agatha Christie story, with a big scene in the end where you'll have to point your finger at the murderer. The game will make sure that you do what is necessary to keep the plot going; if you don't, it will kill you, and tell you how far back in time you need to go to succeed – and (apart from a somewhat longer section on day 2) it's never more than a few minutes of game time. So don't worry, the game's not going to punish you for not overhearing every single conversation (I don't believe it's even possible to, anyway).

Obviously, the game has a lot of depth and detail, the plot has lots of historical connections, the characterisation is top-notch, etc. But you're free to explore all that in detail or not. I think it's worth it, I think we really have quality writing here, and I love replaying TLE to try to catch more details, or to understand one character better. But apart from some things the game will make sure you do (and that's already a long and rewarding story), how much you want to explore the story and characters is up to you. There's no penalty for not doing it, and no in-game reward for doing it – after all, a good story is its own reward.

[MoriartyL]

Yeah, it's a very good game. The walkthrough was the missing piece- now I don't feel like I'm missing what the game wants me to see.

[MoriartyL]

Maybe you didn't understand the Putnik question. The list of passengers says there's supposed to be a guy named Putnik in room 9. But I don't see any room 9.

[Huz]

Originally Posted by Fienepien

There are 16 TLEs available at gametz.com.

Hey, thanks for the response. I thought nobody was going to bother. :~

gametz.com looks a bit mad at first glance - I've never encountered it before. I'll take a closer look - thanks!

[colpet]

I'm stuck.
I've been fighting Dolnikev(?), or some guy who keeps coming into Tyler's cabin, and can't win. Have run though the sequence 6 times now. Am I supposed to fight him, or rewind and evade him?
I've rewound the game many times, as I keep getting an end game (lose fight, get caught by police).
I have all the items that have been mentioned so far and have talked to Schmidt and Kronos. I keep trying to find Comte Vassili to see if he can translate the scroll. His cabin is empty.

[Fien]

Originally Posted by colpet

I'm stuck.
I've been fighting Dolnikev(?), or some guy who keeps coming into Tyler's cabin, and can't win. Have run though the sequence 6 times now. Am I supposed to fight him, or rewind and evade him?

That's Milos. He calls you a murderer, there's no way to avoid the fight.
Jump back 3 times. When Milos tries to slash you throat, jump back and watch the cursor change into a grabbing hand, click and you have won.

I've rewound the game many times, as I keep getting an end game (lose fight, get caught by police).

You have to hide from the police.

Spoiler:

Hanging outside the window of your own compartment or in Count Vassili's bathroom.

I keep trying to find Comte Vassili to see if he can translate the scroll. His cabin is empty.

Spoiler:

Someone else can translate that scroll for you. But if you don't find them tonight, there will be another opportunity next day.

[Fien]

Originally Posted by Huz

gametz.com looks a bit mad at first glance - I've never encountered it before. I'll take a closer look - thanks!

Gametz is okay, some people ask a lot for their games though.
There's another TLE on American ebay. The original Broderbund release, which has a lovely box and a big manual. Plus the strategy guide. You could do worse for 25 dollars. But of course the shipping costs to GB will be high.