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Old 01-28-2006, 11:01 AM   #61
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Snarky
How do you know you can trust Philip?
Boy, you're sounding as paranoid as Philip himself now. Off to do Day 3. The really meaty part.
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Old 01-28-2006, 11:54 AM   #62
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Well, having done it every other day. I turn on the TV. The solicitors dead hampering the police search for a key to the house. The thing that strikes me as odd about this death is it happens away from the house (in his office) Also this now stymies the police. After so many days (remember Simone has been here longer than Trilby) are they not now justified in breaking open the door? Love Trilby's snide comment about it being news only because of Simone's celebrity.

Something odd just occurred to me in this chapter. There is a blazing fire in the room beyond the TV room. Since the characters seem to spend hardly any time ni there who is keeping this going?

Philip's stuck in the dining room, even more surly than before. He must be a rubbish treasure hunter. Trilby showed him a map with a hidden staircase and he hasn't cottoned to it yet. As with Day 2 the other characters are pretty static, preventing the missing character sundrome.

Trilby's car in the back garden provides us with the inventory item we've wanted since Day 1. Lockpicks. Nice setup for a later puzzle here as well.
Spoiler:
Emergency lockpick in tie
The weird thing about this is he left it parked out front. Didnt' the police notice it there? Haven't they now noticed it missing?

Simone's in the pool (I don't think talking to her is vital for this day so you might not have found her) Anyone else try refilling the pool while she's in it? No? Just me then? Fruther signs of Britishness. AJ is government but the agencies he works for are MI5 and CID. Maybe he should have been JB instead of AJ.

Further bonanza on inentory items. The shed has the a pickaxe and saw in it. We hit a classic adventure game problem here. The pickaxe is an awkward shape and the saw is huge yet Trilby slips both in his suit without leaving a bulge. Hardly a unique AG problem though.

At last we get to see where the hidden staircase leads and open up the other two rooms in the house. The additional work to get in the second room is a fairly easy to follow puzzle with sufficient prompts (Trilby not wanting to slam into the tree. Saying cutting it down is a two-man job) to prevent it being too taxing. The biggest problem I have here is that Trilby is an actionable item and the windows are quite small. Selecting a window to climb in through is quite tricky as a result because Trilby is in the way. Also, where does the tree go when they cut it down. Over the wall. Won't someone notice?

With this and the items you have already, you can piece together most of the story. One thing I found awkward is you have to make sure you've read everything for Trilby to make the connections. If you don't, you can''t look at the occult books in the library. Since Trilby was already speculating about ghosts this comes across as forced.

Constructing the Defoe detector is a combination puzzle that shouldn't overly tax any experienced AGer. All the needed items are in fairly plain view. Using it is very similar to the Navigators head in MI1. The awkward part (which I've heard people complain about before) is finding a specific place in the cell room. It would help if Trilby said something like "He must be buried here" when you find the right spot. Silently acquiring an "Area" hotspot doesn't quite work.

Smash, there goes the bell jar you pick up the idol and blam another dream sequence.....

..... except it isn't this time. This is what I meant about the repeated dream sequences having a purpose. We're primed to expect a dream sequence but instead we get a horrible event playing out in reality. The horrors of Trilby's nightmares are seeping into the real world.
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Old 01-28-2006, 12:56 PM   #63
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stepurhan
Simone's in the pool (I don't think talking to her is vital for this day so you might not have found her) Anyone else try refilling the pool while she's in it? No? Just me then? Fruther signs of Britishness. AJ is government but the agencies he works for are MI5 and CID. Maybe he should have been JB instead of AJ.
stupid stuck button

Quote:
Smash, there goes the bell jar you pick up the idol and blam another dream sequence.....
Once thing i noticed was that the otehr side of the house is to the left but the smash came from the right
I know the house was supposed to be warped but thats pushing it a bit
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Old 01-28-2006, 05:20 PM   #64
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This seemed like a longer chapter to me, but then I was stuck because I didn't try to open the window (didn't expect it to have changed. The scratches did not immediately scream to me - 'Try the window again!' ) .
While waiting for something to happen, I cut down the tree with Jim, and indeed, Trilby says he's not sure why they did this. I was a bit surprised to hear him say the same thing after I knew he had to get the tree out of the way (I went back to a saved game).
I thought it was odd that Trilby didn't want to get his nails dirty on the lawn, but was quite willing to forgo the pick axe, and dig in the dirt with his hands to find the skeletons. Also, against what I would have expected, he didn't discuss his diary findings with anyone, nor the death of the solicitor.
One thing I've just noticed is that when the characters speak, the writing is in different colors . I'm nothing if not observant (only took me 3 days to pick this out )
Lastly, where did all my inventory go? It was hard not to jump into Day 4.
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Old 01-28-2006, 06:30 PM   #65
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By the way, i suggest we make Day 4 and Day 5 come under that one stop point, cause day 4 is short, reeeeealy short


***This was my thousandth post...A historical event and i never even noticed it ***
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Old 01-28-2006, 07:47 PM   #66
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stepurhan
Simone's in the pool (I don't think talking to her is vital for this day so you might not have found her) Anyone else try refilling the pool while she's in it? No? Just me then?
I actually did too, just to see what would happen. I couldn't resist.
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Old 01-29-2006, 12:34 AM   #67
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Karmillo
Once thing i noticed was that the otehr side of the house is to the left but the smash came from the right
I know the house was supposed to be warped but thats pushing it a bit
I thought that but if you look at the architectorual plan you'll see the hidden staircase does a full 180 degree turn. Therefore the hidden room is directly below the kitchen and (since the staircase enters it from the left) oriented the same way as the kitchen. So the smash comes from the right side of the room after all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by colpet
This seemed like a longer chapter to me, but then I was stuck because I didn't try to open the window (didn't expect it to have changed. The scratches did not immediately scream to me - 'Try the window again!' ) .
But you wouldn't be trying the window again. Since it's in one of the previously locked rooms, this is a new window. The scratches are maybe meant to hint this window can be opened. Does onyone else think this is where AJ met his fate? After all, assuming he found a key, this is about the only place he could have legitimately gone on Day 1. That would resolve the one abolutely inexplicable disappearance.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Karmillo
stupid stuck button
Quote:
Originally Posted by Legolas813
I actually did too, just to see what would happen. I couldn't resist.
So there are other people with the slightly psychopathic desire to try drowning reporters from the BBC. I'm not sure whether to feel relieved or worried.
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Old 01-29-2006, 09:32 AM   #68
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But you wouldn't be trying the window again. Since it's in one of the previously locked rooms, this is a new window. The scratches are maybe meant to hint this window can be opened. Does onyone else think this is where AJ met his fate? After all, assuming he found a key, this is about the only place he could have legitimately gone on Day 1. That would resolve the one abolutely inexplicable disappearance.
Good point.
Quote:
So there are other people with the slightly psychopathic desire to try drowning reporters from the BBC. I'm not sure whether to feel relieved or worried.
Count me in too .
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Old 01-29-2006, 02:23 PM   #69
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stepurhan
I thought that but if you look at the architectorual plan you'll see the hidden staircase does a full 180 degree turn. Therefore the hidden room is directly below the kitchen and (since the staircase enters it from the left) oriented the same way as the kitchen. So the smash comes from the right side of the room after all.But you wouldn't be trying the window again. Since it's in one of the previously locked rooms, this is a new window. The scratches are maybe meant to hint this window can be opened. Does onyone else think this is where AJ met his fate? After all, assuming he found a key, this is about the only place he could have legitimately gone on Day 1. That would resolve the one abolutely inexplicable disappearance.
I would have though he would have went to the other room, explaining it being bolted....but then how did he get killed? how did the body get outside?

BTW how do we know it was trilby that was the one who got possesed and killed AJ? we only see him kill philip, and how did anyone get possesed before the jar broke?
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Old 01-29-2006, 04:15 PM   #70
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Karmillo
I would have though he would have went to the other room, explaining it being bolted....but then how did he get killed? how did the body get outside?

BTW how do we know it was trilby that was the one who got possesed and killed AJ? we only see him kill philip, and how did anyone get possesed before the jar broke?
How did AJ get killed and how did his body get outside are relatively straightforward questions. He was obviously killed by the same weapon used to kill Philip (where did that suddently appear from is another queston) As for how he got outside. The window to the bolted room opens as well (Trilby opens it from the outside) so his body could easily have been dumped out the window if the killer didn't wish to carry it through the house. After that you steroll past the unsuspecting (possibly sleeping) residents of the house and do the whole pool thing.

We don't know its Trilby that got possessed and killed AJ. Good question about how ANYONE got possessed prior to the bell jar being broken. Any ideas anyone?
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Old 01-30-2006, 06:54 AM   #71
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Quote:
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We don't know its Trilby that got possessed and killed AJ. Good question about how ANYONE got possessed prior to the bell jar being broken. Any ideas anyone?
It was the salt
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Old 01-30-2006, 11:20 AM   #72
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Well, I've just played it. It's good. It's really good, actually. There are starting to be some challenges (which, furthermore, more or less make sense), the plot manages to both seem like it's getting somewhere, while yet getting more mysterious (and, more importantly, it's the first time I've actually started being interested in learning more about the mystery), and the plot twist is actually unexpected this time. Too bad it took two days to get there.

And so there was indeed something with the idol, it seems. It was predictable, as colpet and I said, and yet the game was sending you in a completely different direction, so it was a bit unexpected to see it return to the foreground. That's good.

Stepurhan, I now see what you meant with the dream sequences. A slight problem for me was that it was, once again, going too fast. By the time I just realised who those people lying on the floor were, the sequence was almost already over.

Oh, and the layout of the house has got even more confusing: I thought from the map that Matthew's room was overlooking the front yard, but actually it's the backyard. And what's the problem with the tree, anyway? When he actually goes from one window to the next, he stays pretty close to the wall, so I can't see how the tree could have prevented him from doing that. Oh well.

Another question: what was Matthew's teddy bear (and diary) doing in his room? I mean, didn't he die almost two centuries ago? Don't tell me nobody had used the room since then. Or had all the children in the family been using that 200-year-old teddy? Yuck. (and that would have thrown off the detector, by the way)

Oh, and since we're making hypotheses, I don't think it's Trilby who killed AJ. Though that's just a hunch, really. (and the fact that his car was brought makes me slightly doubful...)

Hey, you know what? For the first time, I'm actually really looking forward to playing the rest.
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Old 01-30-2006, 12:14 PM   #73
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Yay!

This is a game that grew on me as I played it, so I'm glad you're enjoying it more Kurufinwe .
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Old 01-30-2006, 03:49 PM   #74
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kurufinwe
Well, I've just played it. It's good. It's really good, actually. There are starting to be some challenges (which, furthermore, more or less make sense), the plot manages to both seem like it's getting somewhere, while yet getting more mysterious (and, more importantly, it's the first time I've actually started being interested in learning more about the mystery), and the plot twist is actually unexpected this time. Too bad it took two days to get there.
I'm glad you're getting into it now. It's a game that I enjoyed playing first time round despite its flaws. Yahtzze has proved able to tell an intriguing story which I think is important with the often lacklustre plots of today's games (Um..... there's some bad guys so you should........er......shoot them or blow them up or something)
Quote:
Stepurhan, I now see what you meant with the dream sequences. A slight problem for me was that it was, once again, going too fast. By the time I just realised who those people lying on the floor were, the sequence was almost already over.
It is a bit rapid but it does build on the previous sequences.
Quote:
Another question: what was Matthew's teddy bear (and diary) doing in his room? I mean, didn't he die almost two centuries ago? Don't tell me nobody had used the room since then. Or had all the children in the family been using that 200-year-old teddy? Yuck. (and that would have thrown off the detector, by the way)
Definitely a plothole for the reasons you've given. However, I don't know how you could have achieved the same aim (finding the bodies of Matthew and Roderick Defoe) in a more convincing maonner. I think it's a bit of a fudge of logic for the purposes of the overall plot.
Quote:
Hey, you know what? For the first time, I'm actually really looking forward to playing the rest.
I'm glad to hear it. I hope the end sequence works well for you as well.
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Old 01-31-2006, 06:03 AM   #75
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DAY 4
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Old 01-31-2006, 06:05 AM   #76
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Despite what some people have suggested, I'd ask that we just do Day 4 now, and we can move on to Day 5 tomorrow, OK?

I didn't have time to play Day 3, and this would give me a chance to catch up before the end.
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Old 01-31-2006, 06:14 AM   #77
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Despite what some people have suggested, I'd ask that we just do Day 4 now, and we can move on to Day 5 tomorrow, OK?

I didn't have time to play Day 3, and this would give me a chance to catch up before the end.
Fair enough I guess. Let's stick to just the one day of discussion though.
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Old 01-31-2006, 07:06 AM   #78
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so...any plost holes in this day? it was a bit too short to fit any in
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Old 01-31-2006, 07:07 AM   #79
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Damn, I played both days last night.
Anyhow, regarding Day 4:
Spoiler:
It was very frustrating for me. Almost straight dialogue, the kind that has 3 choices, and those have 3 choices and so on. Basically you need to try all the options to get a new choice. I had to go through everything multiple times until I found a way out. Besides that, they are all leading statements. At the end it had me believing that Trilby did kill AJ, when I had thought differently. By the end, I didn't know what to think. Perhaps that was the point?
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Old 01-31-2006, 10:14 AM   #80
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According to the walkthrough them taking you tie off you to prevent you commiting suicide was meant to have you firgure out that you needed to convince them that you did do the crimes and wanted to punish yourself for them...
( yeah I caved into a walkthrough cause i though i had already tried every option )
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