[Fien]

We're supposed to start the last part of the playthrough today, not next week. I figured it wouldn't take much time to complete the second part and I was right.

Skeeter, and anybody else who still has to do the rat shooting: If you want to back out of it, click the top righthand corner. I can't see an exit symbol on my screen, but apparently it's there, just like in the flies minigame.

Matt, I'd already posted that it's best to concentrate on one rathole.

Luna, the sewer has an entrance of its own in the castle. See pic.

[Luna Sevithiainen]

Originally Posted by Fien

Luna, the sewer has an entrance of its own in the castle. See pic.

Ah of course. I was so sure that I would come out in the pool (first time I saw it I was sure that would soon be the entrance to the sewer) that I didn't pay enough attention to where I really came out (assuming I knew where I was already). Thanks for pointing it out, Fien.

[diego]

i guess no one would believe me if i said i've reached 64 points in Gagboy yesterday before the game was over.

I managed not to break something at that moment, and now you can officially call me Gagboy master with a magnificient score of 70.

Rats, beware! (I said i would catch up with you. )

[Fien]

Saved game for the rats.

http://www.4shared.com/file/vnjeqCT5/GAG029.html

PS: If you use this save you still have to do the balloon/pool puzzles!

[Arial Type]

I beat the rate game in 5 minutes this time, but I remember it was also a nightmare for me back in 1998.

[Matt Berkeley]

Matt, I'd already posted that it's best to concentrate on one rathole.

Sorry, Fien. I must've missed that. I certainly hope you know you were included in the all-around thanks in my last post. And I certainly do appreciate the way you've been so responsive (it appears you been diligently responsive to everyone) throughout. I know I'm way too cranky to mastermind/host a playthrough.

[Luna Sevithiainen]

Okay, so now that the last part has actually started today (I thought we wouldn't continue until Monday, which according to my mind is next week), I don't feel so guilty asking for help anymore.

As you know I am in the castle again and decided to search for

Spoiler:

the Marquis and the book. I decided to search Margo's room first, beacuse maybe he put the book back, or maybe she had some other visitor. In short, I believed that the largest chance of finding something significant would be in her room. When entering I got a cutscene with the Marquis, rambling about how his wife was taken a bath. So, I thought, cutscene must mean I am on the right track. The only problem is, that now I am again locked in in Margo's room. The door is locked like before, and the exit out of the window is no longer a hotspot. Margo is said to be taking a bath, but apparently she does taht in a normal bathroom, as she is not in the blood bath. Also, the pc keeps asking for a diskette when I want to acces EvilNet (I already gave that thing the coin), and the Push me button is no longer a hotspot.

As always I am terrified to have run into a dead end or big of some sort, so if anyone would be so kind to assure me that I am again overlooking things that would be great.

Also, on a different note, for those who detest the rats and have already solved the balloon/pool puzzle, I have a save game after the rat game, in which the balloon/pool puzzle is already solved. So if anyone is interested, please let me know, then I'll try to find out how I am going to share it.

[Fien]

Originally Posted by Luna Sevithiainen

As always I am terrified to have run into a dead end or big of some sort, so if anyone would be so kind to assure me that I am again overlooking things that would be great.

No dead end.

[Luna Sevithiainen]

Thanks Fien
In that case I'll keep on looking for the solution (and maybe bother you again if I can't find it).

[harald]

Just as zobraks predicted, I managed to catch up with you! I just entered the sewers (although it took a lot of hints from this thread to get there), only to realise that the last part of the playthrough already started. Yay!

About the game so far... I kind of liked it at first: its quirky randomness, juvenile but repressed (?) sexual references and the cheesy English-dubbed acting. But when I hit the castle I was stuck on almost every single puzzle, and the game almost lost its charm for me. As Matt Berkeley said - it's great as long as you can just amble through. But when you hit a brick wall it's really solid.

I played most of the castle bit with this thread next to me, so that I could look up hints as soon as I felt stuck. And I didn't regret most of it. Again, I'm with Matt. The game suffers from a handful of really bad design decisions (IMO) that hurt my enjoyment of it. For example, I was stuck for nearly an hour looking for a telephone in the castle, only to find that I had to click twice on the exit in order to make Gary go back to his flat. I don't know, maybe it was just me. But since he objects whenever you want to leave, I thought you weren't supposed to. And I didn't even learn from my mistake and try everything three times or more; I was stuck on the "under construction" and black magic "puzzles" too. I agree that there are some good puzzles in the game, but too many are just pixel hunts. I mean, the balloon puzzle - where was the sense in that? You just had to try every item you had until it was completed.

Despite all this, I'm enjoying playing (as long as I can let go of my pride and peek at the hints when I get stuck). Extra praise to Fien for masterfully leading us through the game, and Arial Type for his trivia.

Everything else has basically been said already, but I do have a few questions. First, the combination lock. Could anyone explain how that's supposed to work? I just kept pressing buttons until I got a green light three times in a row. Was there a clever way to deduce the combination?

And the doormat in the countess' room. Did you notice it? (I don't think it's necessary to click on it.) But is there a point to it? I thought it was supposed to be a hint at first (tried "F--- YOU" as the computer password ) but maybe it was just (even more) random weirdness.

Also, did you notice that the gender symbols are reversed on the count's and countess' biographies? Do you think this is a goof or is there some far-fetched joke that I don't get?

And finally, how did you get that second calendar girl, Fien? I've started countless wet dreams but I still only get the one dressed in black.

Right, I think that's all. I'm off to explore the sewers now. Ta!

[Luna Sevithiainen]

Hiya harald, glad you managed to catch up.
I agree with you, some puzzles (especially the "black magic" one seem a bit random and far-fetched, and they only sort-of make sense after you solved them and realize what you did.

Originally Posted by harald

Everything else has basically been said already, but I do have a few questions. First, the combination lock. Could anyone explain how that's supposed to work? I just kept pressing buttons until I got a green light three times in a row. Was there a clever way to deduce the combination?

And the doormat in the countess' room. Did you notice it? (I don't think it's necessary to click on it.) But is there a point to it? I thought it was supposed to be a hint at first (tried "F--- YOU" as the computer password ) but maybe it was just (even more) random weirdness.

Actually, for the lock

Spoiler:

you can also look down when standing outside Margo's room, and see a mat, and underneath is the combination. When the game expects you to look under the mat for the combination to come in, and when you are locked in, you look under the mat again to find the combination to get out, the drawing makes a lot more sense

I didn't notice it until I already got the combination by looking at the lights though, but before I looked at the mat inside the room, so the drawing there did make some sense to me.

Originally Posted by harald

Also, did you notice that the gender symbols are reversed on the count's and countess' biographies? Do you think this is a goof or is there some far-fetched joke that I don't get?

Interesting! I never noticed that. Maybe it's a hint that both the marquis and Margo are transgendered? I don't know of any explanation.

Originally Posted by harald

And finally, how did you get that second calendar girl, Fien? I've started countless wet dreams but I still only get the one dressed in black.

Obviously I am not Fien, but I found 2 calendar girls (so I should know something about it), and I know that one of them I could not get until I was very near the end of the game (I had to finish the sewers before I could get her). Not sure if it's the girl you are looking for, but I know you still have a girl to look for when you are past the sewers.

[harald]

Thanks for the answers, Luna. Of course, I didn't notice the doormat until after I was locked in her room, so that's why I never saw the outer mat. I meant to check it afterwards, but couldn't get back into the castle. It's a pretty funny joke now that I got it explained.

GAG is probably the first multi-disc game I've ever played that allows you to cancel a disk-swap. Why don't all games have this??

The maze got old really fast. I found the

Spoiler:

rats and some rocks, but no slingshot.

I'll give it another try tomorrow.

[Luna Sevithiainen]

Just remember Fien's option D and you'll be fine

On a different note: I finished the game already! Once out of the sewers things went pretty fast for me. It was like the game got a lot more linear. It's a pity it's over, I liked the game, it was quite unique. I'll leave my discussion of the ending for later, but let me just give my over-all conclusion: I liked it.

To everyone still playing: have fun, the last part has some really nice bits (especially animations), and (at least for me) it is a lot less prone to stuckness than the 2nd part.

[millenia]

Originally Posted by seagul

Did anyone mention the wonderfull voice of Gary?! I'm very attracted to men with wonderfull voices...

I thought Gary overall is rather attractive, I certainly wouldn't treat him like the women in the game seem to do (though I'm not very far yet). Don't know about his original voice but the English voice is indeed good.

I haven't continued the game yet and I am stuck without getting into the sewers, I guess I can ask this without spoilers now (not that it really is much of a spoiler anyway): I have the sewer entrance open but can't go in. I've called the boss who wants the book but can't get back into the castle again ("Come back tomorrow, son").

I think I'll look around once more and then I'll check a hint if I still don't get further.

[Luna Sevithiainen]

Millenia, why exactly can't you go in? What does Gary say as a reason to not go in?

[harald]

Thanks again Luna. Heh heh, I feel stupid. I was so sure I had already tried that.

Anyway, I found a strategy for the rats. Since they seem to avoid your mouse cursor, click and hold the mouse anywhere on the screen but over a hole, and when a rat pops out, quickly move the cursor there and release the button. (You also have to estimate how long you've been stretching the band, so don't aim for the holes at the bottom if you've been holding for several seconds.) I don't know if this makes much sense to you, but I managed to kill the rats in ~5 minutes on my first go.

That being said, I still think this mini game is probably buggy as heck.

I'm back in the castle now and plan to continue tomorrow.

Edit: milennia, I think I know where you're stuck. I had the same problem myself and got by using the ol' rub-everything-against-everything-else trick. Did you want a hint? If so, here is one.

Spoiler:

Remember that once is never enough in GAG. If there's something you've already done a few times, it doesn't hurt to do it twice more.

There. I hope that's neither too obvious nor too obscure.

[millenia]

Originally Posted by Luna Sevithiainen

Millenia, why exactly can't you go in? What does Gary say as a reason to not go in?

"Do you want me to break my head open there? And what about the smell?"

I've tried everything item I have on, nothing works. I notice a flashlight on the shelf but you can't pick it up. I haven't really gotten any kind of clue about why I should go in. All I know is "get the book" and can't get into castle so no dice.

Harald: I have done everything I can think of a zillion times. I hope I don't need more flies as I have lost the cursor in that minigame. I can kill like 5+ without aim but that's pretty much it.

[Fien]

Millenia,

Spoiler:

have you received 5 items from your Laundry friend?

[millenia]

Nope, just 3. But I've tried pretty much everything there too. Bah, there it was, the 4th item. I was sure I tried every item but apparently I managed to skip it. Probably because the document types were see-only.

Btw Luna, you still have those GK2 saves? I saved at the beginning of chapter 2 and now the game crashed in the end... Only need to find the address and send the package to Gabriel. Any help or do I need to play the whole day again? Stupid me always forgetting to save.

[Luna Sevithiainen]

Millenia, why do you only have 3? (that is, why aren't you able to get more?)

Also, (sorry for the off-topic, guys) I should still have my GK2 saves, but they are on my other computer, so I can't send them right now. But if you want I can give them to you (I should have a save suiting your situation). One thing though, I did use the Hendroz installer to make it run on win XP, so if you don't have that I am afraid my saves won't work...Anyway, just send me a pm if you can use them.