[Phod]

I didn't see what he's talking about but is there a glitch new players should know about and how to avoid it? or is it impossible to avoid

[mgeorge]

Ok, this is my second time playing the game just to let folks know. First a few impressions. As Andrea said, having no option to skip dialog is something that I wish had been included, however I don't find it that big of a deal. Also the animations are very crude, and Nigels slow movement can get annoying at times. Again though, something that doesn't bother me that much.

For the good stuff. I'm more impressed with the graphics this time around and the sound as well, as I'm paying more attention to these things. For first time players, I would suggest really looking at each scene as there always seems to be movement of some kind, (birds flying, fog, etc.), which is pretty rare in an AG.

As to the use of mostly B&W, I think it adds to the game, and perfect for this type of story. I'm by no means a seasoned AG player, and for someone who plays lots of RPG's and FPS games as well, the lack of sophisticated graphics doesn't bother me at all here because the game oozes a foreboding and gloomy atmosphere. The sound too, is fantastic. Almost as good as the Thief series, which in my humble opinion has the best sound ever produced in a video game.

This next part I'm going to put in spoiler tags, but not sure if I need to, so please let me know Phantasy.

Spoiler:

I'm sure this has probably been mentioned in other discussions regarding the game, but I noticed that when you first meet Nanny Noah there are no footprints in the beach sand other than George the dog. Neither Nigels or Nanny's footprints are there. What's up with that?

Now this part I know is a spoiler.

Spoiler:

I wasn't sure about this Hadden "computer generated" theory I've seen floating around, but now I'm starting to wonder. And did anyone else notice in your documents that you took from Hadden, there is a Polly in there? I find that very interesting.

Oh and as to a glitch. I don't believe I've ever seen one in the game. Is there one people should know about?

[Rex Nebular]

There is an official patch here: http://www.thelostcrown.co.uk/ that might solve your problems.

The game is incredibly atmospheric. Despite being 99% B&W, the backgrounds are so detailed, the music so subtle that it feels like a completely groundbreaking experience in an adventure game.

I agree with Andrea regarding the lack of subtitles in the intro, there were many words that i couldnt understand.

[therabidfrog]

The patch would solve my problem, but I repeated the section directly after getting booted back and before moving ahead I saved over my game effectively ending it as

Spoiler:

patching does not cause the key to come back, and once it's gone it's gone

[Fantasysci5]

Andrea and mgeorge-I so agree that it would have been wonderful to have been able to skip dialogue. I agree with you both that the black and white screens are beautiful. I'll put my theory of that in my post later today of what my impressions were of this first chapter.

Phod-I'm not sure if the patch works, so I will tell you that sometime while you are playing, another character will give you a walkie talkie. (I don't think this is really a spoiler...) DO NOT use the walkie talkie unless the character that gave it to you calls you first. Others who have played this game can correct me if I'm wrong, but it is only used in the game when the character calls you first....

mgeorge-I'm going to say that the first spoiler tag isn't really a spoiler, and does't need to be. You didn't outright say that Nanny Noah

Spoiler:

might be a ghost,

and was just stating something you noticed. If you ever run into anything like that you want to post about, something safe like that, just an innocent observation, it would be fine without spoiler tags.

And to your 2nd statement; Yeah, Nigel knew Polly before this game. She is the one who recruits him. In the beginning scene behind Mr. Hadden, is a screen about Nigel, where it mentions that Polly recruited him.

Spoiler:

Which poses the question; Which game came first? Lost Crown, or Dark Fall? Did he met her, get recruited, then go to school with her, or the other way around?

Rex-The patch, when it asks you to install, what do you do? Must you put it somewhere, or once you install it, it'll work?

Bidfrog-I do not have a saved game of that point. Do you think you could start it over? Or once we get to that point in the game, I can save it right before then and send it to you.

Thanks for replying guys!!! My day is really stressful and busy, so I'll post my thoughts later tonight.

[mgeorge]

Now that you guys have mentioned the patch, I do remember that my game ran very slowly until I installed it.

I also seem to recall that it wasn't simply a matter of downloading the patch and then running it. If memory serves me right, you have to download it and then insert it in a paticular game folder, but I don't remember exactly where or how to do it. Perhaps someone else can let us know.

Thanks for the info about Polly Phantasy. Just replayed the opening cinematic several times, and should have paid more attention to it. It gives a lot more info than I had originally thought! Hmmmm. More food for thought now.

[HandsFree]

OK, Nigel just made his second nightly journal entry, so I suppose this is where I stop.
This has been around two hours of gameplay, and so far I'm enjoying it.

The first thing I liked was that I can move around in a coherent gameworld. Some games have you stuck in one place and then automatically transport you to another unrelated location. I'm glad I can move around freely, and because double clicking speeds things up you can get everywhere fast enough.
I was afraid the game would be sluggish on my low-end laptop, but so far everything goes smoothly, no long loading times or anything.

There's now just something of a story emerging but it's still beneath the surface, so I can't comment on that for now. The atmosphere is suitably chilly though. After this introduction, I still have high expectations of what's to come.

Because there haven't been any real challenges yet, and the story is just at the first page, the gameplay elements are easiest to comment on. And that's where my first impressions are less enthousiastic (a bit).
As others have said, the lack of subtitles in the introduction was a problem for me. I just couldn't hear the twisted voice very well among the beackground noises. It doesn't help that you have no idea what he is talking about. After I finished this chapter I watched the intro again, and this time it made much more sense. I can recommend doing that if you had a problem with it the first time.

Being unable to skip dialogue will become a nuisance, I fear. Especially because you can't recognize the options you already used (they could have a different colour, as in some games). I misclicked a lot of times in this first 2 hours (yes, my fault) and had to listen to everything twice.

There seem to be only 8 save slots? That's too bad for anyone wanting a savegame, because everyone will be overwriting them. Could there be an actual valid reason for that?
And then there's the voice acting. These actor's must be from the same school of voice acting as Agon's Samuel Hunt, stressing every other syllable. To my ears it sounds very unnatural and uncomfortable, but maybe it's different if your ears are English?

These points might become irrelevant once the game gets into gear, or they might become major issues. Can't wait to find out.

[Fantasysci5]

Handsfree-I hope you keep going with it until the story gets really going. I know the intro was hard to hear, but I think I got it down, so if you'd like me to tell you anything you ight have missed them saying in teh intro, you can just ask me.

Well, as Handsfree has said, this chapter is pretty slow, setting up the story, and can be done pretty quickly. So we are going to move on to the 2nd chapter Monday February 23rd.

Well here is my (I'm afraid) long list of my thoughts on this first chapter.
(I made 3 pages of notes to talk about; don't look at me like that!!! lol) There are some significant spoilers in the spoiler tags, so if you haven't played TLC yet, don't look at the spoiler tags. Once you've played it through, though, you should come back and see what you missed in those

Firstly; the game packaging. I realize that packaging in the US and other places are different. In the US version, there is a forboding-looking white hosue over some train tracks, with a ghostly print over them. The train track, yeah I get that, but does anyone have an idea of what the house is in the game? The other version, I believe, has a girl petting a crow and leaving a blood streak, although I've onlysaw that on the site. Who do you think this girl is? This "Lucy" we saw going through the Fens? lol

In the booklet that comes with the game, I found a contradiction with the game and the booklet. In the booklet, it makes it sound like Nigel was at his job, and stumbled upon Hadden industries website. But obviously in the game, he *worked* there, since he hs an ID and he makes mention of a "late arrival" in the paperwork. Mr. Crow (or Hare, can't tell them apart) refers to Nigel as "one of us", meaning he works with them, not

Spoiler:

supporting the theory that Nigel is a computer simulated version of Nigel, like them.

I believe that that theory, Nigel works for Hadden, and has to take part in an experiment

Spoiler:

with the computer generated world of "Saxton" made with the black and white photos being set up to the 'chasm' that the ghosts are on he edge of. Mr. Hare's report has an interesting quote, "What terrible effect would (pulling the ghosts out of the chasm and into this world) have on our world?" Nigel was put in with the ghosts to see what the ghosts would want with them, etc.

Did you guys see, for your first time people, that at the bottom of the screen, there's documents showing what he got from Hadden and why he's on the run. I didn't notice this on my first playthrough until we had to use the key, so I just though I'd let you in on quite a bit of background information found in those documents.

The introduction logo had me wondering if "Darkling Room" is singular or plural, since it said "Darkling Room present", but it sounds like it should be plural. Anyway, also the interesting logo of Darkling Room shows an ordinary man, but his shadow has a hat and is so much more, although we don't know. Jonathan, I believe, gave advice somewhere that the biggest clue to Mr. Hadden was in the very beginning. Some think it might be the title screen where you can choose to start, etc. But I was thinking of that logo. But anyway, *cough*

Obviously in this game, May Day is coming, which in the booklet says is a powerful night in the Pagen calendar. Another game which Jonathan was a big part of, "Barrow Hill", also dealt with the Autumn Equinox, which is another "big day in the Pagen calendar" if my memory serves me right.

Mr. Hare and Mr. Crow, Mr. Hadden's employees in the beginning, I refuse to think that's their actual names. So are they codenames, and for what purpose? (It's interesting to note that on "This Haunted Land", a website on paranormal activity that Jonathan leads, they visited a haunted pub named "Hare and Crow"...) Also near the entrance of D Labs, we see a wheelchair,

Spoiler:

which people who've played it before will have seen later on in the game. And the Lost Crown on a stand by Mr. Hadden is almost exactly the one in the museum later, which would give credit to the theory of Saxton being Mr. Hadden's computer generated world.

In the documents that Nigel stole, it mentions "Project Dark Fall", which is probably the chasm. A nod to Jonathan's first games, but does it have any connection to this story even more? And anyone who has played the first "Dark Fall" will perk up at the familiar name of Nigel. I see Nigel as Jonathan, since he probably programmed Nigel like himself and he voiced him. And that goatee is awesome. That's just me, though.

Anyway, following the story, I find it interesting that Hadden knows where Nigel is going

Spoiler:

supporting the idea that it's a computer simulation, and he has cameras everywhere because he made Saxton.

The train in interestingly called "The Sleepwalker", which supports the theory

Spoiler:

that all of this game is Nigel dreaming. This would also explain why everything is black and white with a bit of color, because it is said that that's how we dream, but I do not agree with this theory.

Also, the Station Master doesn't think the train is out of place, when Nigel calls it a reinactment. This supports the theory that

Spoiler:

he is a ghost stuck in his own time in the chasm.

[Fantasysci5]

I find it interesting that the Station Master refuses to give us his name. Maybe it's a cool nickname and professional to be called "Station Master", but does anyone else find this a bit weird?

I love the little touches he makes to make this world real. The advertisement boards near the Fens; I don't know what they're selling, but it makes it feel real. Just like there were advertisement boards in the first Dark Fall. I also love the info by the Fens on the board of the different type of animals, plants, etc. It makes it feel so real, and that I'm learnign soemthing more and real about England, which I'm obsessed with. It's funny how we see the poisen flower that the board talked about everywhere. It didn't just tell about them, but showed that that was actually happening.

The "ancient graffiti" that Nigel is always pointing out. Does it actually mean anything in the story? And the man watching the Heron says that Nigel will scare the birds away, but the way he said it really loud and gruff, he'll be the one to scare them off!!!

Lucy's ID makes it seem that this game takes place between '07 and '10, which is significant later. The newspaper mentions people we will meet later, which is a nice touch, like a certain ad for an

Spoiler:

antique shop

. And what the heck did one of the ads mean "Reduce your Flesh"?!?!?!

The dead souls in the cave we see is pretty scary.

Spoiler:

Pity we never get to help them... Or actually help with the Cat Watch.

And the little boy outside, trying to get his teddy bear back, made my heart melt. And when Nigel comes back, not only is the boy gone, but so is the bicycle, which suggests a passage of time or a vision, the second bein more likely for many reasons. Of course, when we walk over and talk to the old woman, she mentions a little body in the water, which could be the boy. The sign did warn us of "strong currents". Remember the gravestone we saw in the beginning opening credit?

Spoiler:

For us that have played it, we know it's Nanny and Bob's child that drowned.

. The woman seemed to know Nigel, and that he would be coming. Weird. She mentions not really needing to care for emergencies, which would support the theory that

Spoiler:

the townspeople are ghsots, and already dead, so no real "emergencies" would come up.

And have you ever noticed in adventure games, that when a character asks someone if they can ask more questions, the person never says, "No. You can't". lol

When I first played this, I always wondered why there was so many screens devoted to the sand right outside of town, which we find out later.

Spoiler:

The May Day Fayre

. The steps outside the Bear, where do they lead, do you think? And the names on the sign outside the Bear really foreshadow a lot of people we learn about or meet. Inside the Bear, we see a familiar Ballad on the wall if you've played the first Dark Fall. I found it interesting that the words are a bit changed to mention Saxton...Why does Morgan say "if you leave" to Nigel? Will he like it so much he'll stay there? I would. Actually, I was thinking of writing a fan fiction of what happens after this game. Does anyone have a theory of why the clock in the Bear is stuck on 9 o'clock? In Jonathan's first game, he mentioned that some places can get stuck in a time when a significant event happened. Do you think that's what happened here, and what?

The pigeons in the town are very friendly, not flying off scared with people being really close. But I've never actually seen pigeons, so I don't know if they do this anyway. And on the other side of the town, where boats are blocking the way up, there is a 'figure' on the water. But he seems to be sweeping, like he was on one of the ships. Ideas?

In the kitchen of the cottage, you find a paper talking of Harbour Cottage, and another familiar name from the first Dark Fall, Crabtree, pops up. A question for those who've played before;

Spoiler:

the disconnected phone. One time during the game, it starts quoting a famous poem, "Is anybody there?". When does this happen?

. In the cottage with the music, it sounds like a girl saying, "Stop!". The windmills on the woodwork of the cottage Molina said to have put there specifically, since 'Molina" in Spain (?) means 'windmill'. It's curious that Morgan doesn't make you pay yet, which Nigel comments on. But on the article about the cottage in the kitchen, it says that the cottage would need a LOT of work to get past British standards, hich obviously, I think, hasn't been done. So maybe that's why Morgan isn't cahrging him, because she's not supposed to be renting it out anyway.

The cat in the trunk upstairs might have a connection to all of the missing cats. Are the missing cats asking for Nigel's help? And do you think there is any significance of the bell ringing in Nigel's dream?

Station master's voice, (Bob Tawny later), Morgan Mankle, and the lady by the beach have *wonderful* voices. The sounds are wonderful, like the thunder and the sound of his footsteps on the sand. The music in The Bear was delightful, and I stood in their awhile just to listen to it. The houses in town are absolutely beautiful, and just makes me want to move there.

Some negative points; Some of the animation is really stiff. The characters seem to *glide* instead of walk, and in the intro sequence, the crows fly by but don't flap their wings, etc. Nigel's voice begins really annoying with the awkward pauses he puts in, but by the end of the game, I've become so used to him, I love his voice, and even his B movie pauses. Fans have actually dubbed it Danverspeak. There are some spelling errors, like not capitalizing Tawny in the paper, and putting 'uther' instead of "other", but that's jsut being nit-picky. Hardacre's voice is the worst for me, but I do like the mood he sets. And of course the not being able to skip dialogue. But I still love Jonathan and this game.

I hope you guys don't mind me writing this much. You'll probably kill me and marvel at the fact I wrote this much. What can I say; I love this game. Please don't hurt me...

[Fien]

For those of you who had problems with the intro: I wrote it down first time I played the game, because it later seemed to be important as a frame of reference for the entire game. There's one fragment I'm not sure about [...], please fill it in, you native English speakers.

[[Phone ringing... also sounds of fax]]

Hadden: Mr. Hare, Mr. Crow, report!
Crow: We've lost him, sir.
H: I don't want your excuses.
C: Disappeared into the crowd, sir.
H: Which way was he heading?
C: The station, sir. He has the documents.
H: Danvers has seen and heard too much. He knows about the chasm and D labs. He could have seen the experiment.
C: How? The firewalls are hack-proof.
H: To those on the outside, yes.
C: Ah, he's one of of us.
H: Perhaps I can think of a better purpose for Mr. Danvers.
C: Shall I give up [....] Mr. Hadden?
H: He'll be catching the last train.
C: What platform, sir? There's still time.
H: No, leave him be. I know his train and I know where he's going.
C: Where, sir? Where is he going?
H: He's going nowhere, nowhere at all.

[Fien]

Originally Posted by Fantasysci5

The pigeons in the town are very friendly, not flying off scared with people being really close. But I've never actually seen pigeons, so I don't know if they do this anyway.

You've never seen pigeons? no kidding? They're a pest here, in my backyard too. When they're on the ground you have to get real close to them to make them fly off. But when they're higher up in the air, on your balcony or a tree outside, it's much easier to scare them away.

And on the other side of the town, where boats are blocking the way up, there is a 'figure' on the water. But he seems to be sweeping, like he was on one of the ships. Ideas?

I think he's a treasurehunter, with one of those devices.

[therabidfrog]

Please please send me a save game when you get to that point. That's like 15hours into the game. In my opinion it doesn't really begin to pick up until the second half. That's when you start interecting with the towns people more.

[Fantasysci5]

Fien-Hmm...I think in the space you're not sure of, he said "give up the chase", but I'll have to go back and see to make sure.

And I see how you'd think he's treasure hunting, like a metal detector that Emma Harry had in "Barrow Hill"...but why is he on the water?!

[Tiocfaidh]

Originally Posted by Fantasysci5

I hope you guys don't mind me writing this much. You'll probably kill me and marvel at the fact I wrote this much. What can I say; I lvoe this game. Please don't hurt me...

Mind you writing this much ?!?

Are you kidding me ?

I love to read your (and others) thoughts and theories concerning this game !!!

More, more, more .....

..... please

I hope I´ll catch up with you, but there´s so much other stuff to do.
Think I´ll have to stay up all night then

[therabidfrog]

Originally Posted by Fantasysci5

Fien-Hmm...I think in the space you're not sure of, he said "give up the chase", but I'll have to go back and see to make sure.

And I see how you'd think he's treasure hunting, like a metal detector that Emma Harry had in "Barrow Hill"...but why is he on the water?!

And what the heck is that weird growth on the front of that ship?

[HandsFree]

Of course I keep going. The only reason to give up would be an action/arcade sequence I can't pass.
In fact I like it that the game starts slow; now there's time to take in the atmosphere and the hints to mystery.

My gamebox has the tracks and the house. Didn't get to see the house in this first chapter so that must be later in the game then. Did I already miss something?
I noticed the documents in inventory though, but had no idea why they were there or want they mean. Replaying the introduction helped here also.

I didn't find it weird that the stationmaster didn't tell his name. Would be more surprised if he did, a customer asking your name is a sign a complaint is coming your way.
So Lucy's ID says 07-10, but I didn't see any other clue to the time period. What (in this chapter) indicates a different period?

The body in the water cannot be the boy, unless there's some time paradox going on. He only disappears after you fix the dangerous currents sign. You can see the thing/body in the water, go back and see the boy again, until you are aware of the currents.

Originally Posted by Fantasysci5

And I see how you'd think he's treasure hunting, like a metal detector that Emma Harry had in "Barrow Hill"...but why is he on the water?!

I thought the boats were towed ashore and the man was standing on sand.

But your negatives are different than mine. I didn't mind the 'slide' walking or stiff animation. And I thought 'uther' was slang.

[Fien]

Fantasy, forget what I said about pigeons. Those birds are sea gulls.

Originally Posted by HandsFree

Didn't get to see the house in this first chapter so that must be later in the game then. Did I already miss something?

No, the game won't let you proceed to the next day/night if you have missed something.

So Lucy's ID says 07-10, but I didn't see any other clue to the time period. What (in this chapter) indicates a different period?

At the end of the intro you see: "Nigel Danvers, Design&Development Department. Recruited 7-11-'78. Joined Hadden Industries following recommendations by Polly White. Subject has shown lack of initiative and committment."

Nigel doesn't really look old enough to be recruited 30 years ago...
BTW, 7 November is also the date that Harbour Cottage was put on the market and it happens to be Jonathan Boakes' birthday.

I thought the boates were towed ashore and the man was standing on sand.

Yep, I don't see water either.

[Fantasysci5]

Originally Posted by Tiocfaidh

Mind you writing this much ?!?
Are you kidding me ?
I love to read your (and others) thoughts and theories concerning this game !!!
More, more, more .....
..... please
I hope I´ll catch up with you, but there´s so much other stuff to do.
Think I´ll have to stay up all night then

Wow, thanks for letting me know. I didn't think anyone would read my long rant unless they were hard-core "Lost Crown" fans. I'm glad you liked to read my theories. I hope you can make time for this.

Originally Posted by therabidfrog

And what the heck is that weird growth on the front of that ship?

What growth are you talking about? Can you take a screenshot or something?

Originally Posted by HandsFree

Of course I keep going. The only reason to give up would be an action/arcade sequence I can't pass.
In fact I like it that the game starts slow; now there's time to take in the atmosphere and the hints to mystery.

I didn't find it weird that the stationmaster didn't tell his name. Would be more surprised if he did, a customer asking your name is a sign a complaint is coming your way.
So Lucy's ID says 07-10, but I didn't see any other clue to the time period. What (in this chapter) indicates a different period?

The body in the water cannot be the boy, unless there's some time paradox going on. He only disappears after you fix the dangerous currents sign. You can see the thing/body in the water, go back and see the boy again, until you are aware of the currents.

I thought the boates were towed ashore and the man was standing on sand.

I'm glad you won't give up on it. I don't believe there are any too difficult action arcades to worry about. There is one puzzle that you have to do fast, but you don't die, you don't have to start over, etc. I love slow introductions, too, to let us get to know where we are, the people, etc, before the actual mystery comes up.

I would recommend to everyone who this is their first time playing it through, to go back and watch the opening scene again.

I never thought about that as a reason that the Station Master didn't give his name. I always thought he was trying to be obtuse. But you're so right!!

As Fien said, Nigel was said to be recruited 30 years ago, and we know from later in the game (which is not a spoiler), that Nigel is about 30. So he would have been recruited at birth.

I guess when we learn about the undercurrents, it helps explain where the boy went. I thought it was once you go to talk to the old woman and go back, that he would be gone. Yes, it could be a different boy, but how do you explain the bicycle disappearing once you see the boy is gone? Think about it. Not that much time passes from Nigel being on the beach with the womn till he walks over there...

You didn't miss anything yet about the house. I was jsut putting forth a question that you could think about the *whole* game.

Oh man, I missed that entirely!!! I thought the sand where the guy is looking was water!!!! Taht would make sense, we get to see other "treasure hunters" looking for the treasure!!! You guys are geniuses!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Fienepien

Fantasy, forget what I said about pigeons. Those birds are sea gulls.
and it happens to be Jonathan Boakes' birthday.

Man, I am stupid. I could have sworn those were pigeons, but I *knew* they were sea gulls. So is it hard to scare away sea gulls?!

And YAY!!!! Jonathan Boakes birthday!!!!!

[HandsFree]

So Nigel joined Hadden in 1978 (I'll just assume the 19 here).
The cottage was put on the market in 1988, and from the looks of it that was a long time ago.
And Lucy's ID says (20)07.
I'll say that we are in 2007-2010 (2008 would make it a round figure). But I missed that 7/11/78.
So is Nigel 50 years old and just looks too young? Or did he end up in the future? Or something else? (don't tell).

edit: why is it strange the bike disappeared also? If the boy takes his bicycle and leaves, that would only take seconds. Much less time than drowning anyway.

[Fantasysci5]

Handsfree- We're not sure what that means. He doesn't look like he's 50...maybe there's a time distortion, but we don't know.

And with the boy on the bike, yeah, he could have jsut went abck home, but what significance would that have? You don't think the boy and the thing in the water is connected?