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AG Community Playthrough 77 - Black Mirror 1
Trying to get the camera held me up because I failed to see the hotspot on the door frame to find the key.
I don’t think I’ve played this game more than 3 or 4 times ever, but that gets me every time. Even when I do find it I then forget to right click! Fortunately it didn’t take me too long to remember this time.
I’m hoping to get us started with chapter two later today, if anyone needs some extra time this would be a great time to check in!
3.5 time winner of the “Really Annoying Caption Contest Saboteur” Award!
If you can tell me what’s in your current inventory - I can probably nudge you in the right direction, saving you long trips I have endured.
Many thanks DCast, but I managed to move things forward in the next session. I had missed that Samuel could open both drawers in that chest in his room. Turned out I was pretty far from completing the chapter!
Enjoyed myself quite a bit. The atmosphere is great and the puzzles are mostly good and fun to solve, even though I think relying on the player having perfect knowledge of the planet system is not a very good idea imo. There should have been some kind of clue in-game. I managed to solve it through the basic knowledge I have and some trial and error though.
The game so far is pretty slow and too much time is spent on “getting rid” of hot-spots that lead nowhere story wise and that too often don’t contribute to anything in the game really. And I began clicking myself through some of the dialog at the end of the chapter, especially when speaking with the grave digger.
Fast-travelling works perfectly on my PC though. No problems or complaints there so far.
The timing or sequencing of things got a bit weird a few times. Discovering both the chest in the attic and the camera before speaking with Robert for example gets weird, with Samuel getting to know about the film in the chest in the attic and then saying he’s been off to the attic to find the chest locked without moving one centimeter. Could so easily have been written (or translated) differently to make sense.
Looking forward to moving on to the next chapter!
I’m hoping to get us started with chapter two later today, if anyone needs some extra time this would be a great time to check in!
Finding game time is a bit of a hit-and-miss here, so don’t wait around for me. Either I’ll catch up, or I won’t.
Wouldn’t be the first CPT I start but don’t finish. Or finish *very* late.
The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka
OK, time for a little bit of a Chapter 1 round up (spoiler free if you’ve finished the chapter of course) and to beginning chapter 2!
Chapter 1 round up
We play as Samuel Gordon, returning to his upper class family castle after many years following the death of his uncle. The game starts in the aftermath of the funeral but it’s clear that Samuel’s feelings of grief are not just concerning his uncle…
Black Mirror Castle itself seems an extraordinary place. Huge, ancient and foreboding. Maybe even lifeless and empty, despite the things and people there.
We find that the family history of the Gordons is a troubled one. The castle itself was built by two brothers many hundreds of years ago…
So… which one is the evil one again?
But visits to the town and the local church appear to show it’s equally clear that the present day Gordons seem to have issues of their own, even apart from the recent bereavement.
Finally, a discovery in the library leads us to William’s tower, a diary and a strange black sphere. We learn of a family curse or madness and of the existence of 5 symbolic keys which are in the possession of the men of the family.
A strange headache and disturbing dream later we awake to find a detective in the house and reports of Henry the gardener lying dead in the pond…
It’s time to get on with…
3.5 time winner of the “Really Annoying Caption Contest Saboteur” Award!
Chapter 2 - Back to the light…
We’ll be venturing a little further afield around Warmhill in chapter 2 and will be a little more involved in both the puzzle department and the jeopardy department.
I don’t want to give spoilers away about the game, but there are one or two important things you should be aware of for the day:
1. It is possible to die today and this game is 20 years old, so if you’re expecting an autosave to put you right back where you were you’re in for some frustration. As I said before, this isn’t an early Sierra game so no need to be too paranoid, but saving once you’ve done something significant is a good habit to be in.
2. There is one puzzle today which concerns turning wheels and working out exactly what it is they do. The puzzle does not reset itself when you leave it and come back again, so a precautionary save before you get too hands on might be a good idea.
3. Finally and most importantly there is the possibility to get yourself into an unwinnable position today and if you haven’t saved recently you are not going to be a happy camper. I don’t want to spoil anything but should you come across a weapon in your travels make sure you save the game before you use it. Also make sure that you know exactly where you’re going to use it. You will need to use it in on more than one thing.
(I hope the above isn’t too cryptic but don’t want to spoil. I can be a clearer if anyone would prefer that).
This is quite a long chapter so let’s say Chapter 3 will begin on Wednesday 29 March.
3.5 time winner of the “Really Annoying Caption Contest Saboteur” Award!
It reminds me *very* much of Phantasmagoria at the moment. The house even has a very similar lay-out (possibly intentional?).
I totally get that. Also Dark Seed.
3.5 time winner of the “Really Annoying Caption Contest Saboteur” Award!
I am a bit behind, but that doesn’t matter!
I found out about the doorframe, and I managed to right-click the old fireplace as well.
The atmosphere is great, and yes, Samuel is a snob:-)
I am curious when and how I will find out that there is something in the mailbox, but we will see :-)
Finished Chapter I.
Got stuck at one point, because I only clicked the door to William’s study once instead of twice. Only the second click was the trigger that made Samuel able to talk to Victoria.
I hate it when games do that. Some of the doors in the village are the same. It’s an active hotspot and when you click, you get “It’s locked.”. It remains active, so you click again. “I don’t know who lives here.” It remains active still. Click a third time and it becomes inactive because “I have no desire to go in there.”. Nice Samuel, why didn’t you say so the first time?
Same with leaving the castle. “I’m not heading out there without a map.”
I get a map, go back to the exit and… “I wouldn’t know where to go out there. Besides, I still have things to do here.” Then why did you ask for a map the first time? If you want to play the “you need a reason to do things” card, reverse those remarks. Only ask for a map when we actually have a reason to go elsewhere. Now you’re implying that, with a map, I can explore other areas, while I can’t. (Not yet at that point, at least.)
Good thing the map is also a fast-travel option for getting inside the castle and to the gate. Saves a couple of steps when I’m at a distant location and need to travel to another part of the castle.
At least the puzzles are pretty solid. Although I did have to look up the size and order of the planets. I got most right from the start, but was completely thrown off with the - for 1981 very logical - presence of Pluto.
Somehow I feel that there should have been a clue in the game for that. We’re not all astronomers.
Anyway, the plot thickens, and I’m curious to see what the second chapter will bring.
The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka
Hello folks, been lurking for awhile and really wanted to join a CPT. I was hoping to get on board with Amerzone awhile back but life had other ideas.
But I am doing my best to follow along here and keep up. Even though I still have a few things left to take care of in Chapter 1, the ability to progress hasn’t been too cumbersome so far. I’m definitely hooked.
Thanks to @Intense Degree for leading and for all the helpful warnings.
One thing I am curious about, if it doesn’t spoil anything…
A few conversations have offered positive and negative reaction options to NPC questions. Do these have any significant bearing on the story?.
Welcome Keybordz, a CPT is a great way to get involved in the forums. 
Regarding the positive and negative responses… as far as I am aware there are no major differences in the game. A little bit of dialogue changes here and there and at one point I think and you might have to pay someone a little more to do something, but seeing as Samuel is filthy rich it doesn’t make much odds. 
3.5 time winner of the “Really Annoying Caption Contest Saboteur” Award!
I’ve finished chapter II. I enjoyed myself plenty, but it’s kind of a pity they put that mine sequence in there at all. It’s all filler, it has nothing at all to do with the story as far as I can tell. And what’s a mine doing a short drop beneath the church and graveyard anyway? And at the end of the sequence we encounter one of the most unfair “puzzles” in gaming history. Even vaguely remembering it I still had to load a save after shooting at the lock before having right-clicked it… Jeez.
Apart from that the chapter had a really nice flow to it. My memory of it was that there can be a struggle to find triggers to advance time on a couple of occasions, but this time it went really smoothly. Not quite sure what I actually did to trigger that key being ready to pick up at the pub though…
Looking forward to the next chapter. I remember playing an early demo of the game containing part of that chapter, without voices and with a few bugs. Will be nice to revisit this part of the game. I have good, albeit very vague, memories of it.
Edit: It’s also strange that Samuel meets a wolf. According to Wikipedia there haven’t been any wild wolves in England since the late 1300’s. I didn’t particularly like having to kill it either.
I’ve finished chapter II. I enjoyed myself plenty, but it’s kind of a pity they put that mine sequence in there at all. It’s all filler, it has nothing at all to do with the story as far as I can tell. And what’s a mine doing a short drop beneath the church and graveyard anyway?
I’ve finished too & found it to be very enjoyable also with a variety of well-integrated puzzles. I myself really liked the mine sequence which incorporated even more but there was one where I ended up peeking at a walkthrough because I couldn’t get the lever positions right but could have kicked myself when I realised that I had failed to turn the adjacent valve first!
I didn’t feel at the time that the mine sequence was a filler. My thought was that the church could have been built over old caverns/mines which had been ‘upgraded’ in later centuries? I did think it was too early in the game to ascertain whether the mine section has anything to do with the story but for me even if it didn’t it was an interesting diversion! I did wonder though where the mine cart went?
And at the end of the sequence we encounter one of the most unfair “puzzles” in gaming history.
Yes! At least earlier you could expect to die if you touched the obvious live wire! No, England didn’t have wolves in 1981 so the presence of one to me is not realistic & comes across as an excuse for the developer(s) to introduce an unnecessary timed event & potential game over scenario for dramatic effect?
As I understand it though there were wolves in Czechoslovakia at the time so maybe it was assumed that there were in the UK also?
……..the chapter had a really nice flow to it. My memory of it was that there can be a struggle to find triggers to advance time on a couple of occasions, but this time it went really smoothly. Not quite sure what I actually did to trigger that key being ready to pick up at the pub though…
In contrast to the first chapter I also found that this chapter had a nice flow with one of the few frustrations being ‘killing time’ which I remembered from playing the first time around back in 2003!
I’ve just checked this out & I think that all you need to do on giving Mark the key mould is to exit & enter the pub each time to talk to the bar tender 3 times?
Before concluding my experience I did wonder why, as the story is set in August 1981, Victoria’s attire is not more contemporary?
I thought that this 2nd chapter was so much better than the 1st & gave me more than a glimpse, via story & gameplay, of why this game for me was amongst my favourites at the time. & I’m looking forward to playing on.
Well, a deadly deadline for a translation came up when we started this CPT (blame My Time at Sandrock) and haven’t been able to play until now, and I won’t be until next weekend.
Luckily, I will be on holidays the whole Holy Week, so I will catch up then…
Currently translating Strangeland into Spanish. Wish me luck, or send me money to my Paypal haha
I’ve finished chapter II. I enjoyed myself plenty, but it’s kind of a pity they put that mine sequence in there at all. It’s all filler, it has nothing at all to do with the story as far as I can tell. And what’s a mine doing a short drop beneath the church and graveyard anyway?
I didn’t feel at the time that the mine sequence was a filler. My thought was that the church could have been built over old caverns/mines which had been ‘upgraded’ in later centuries? I did think it was too early in the game to ascertain whether the mine section has anything to do with the story but for me even if it didn’t it was an interesting diversion! I did wonder though where the mine cart went?
For me I think I slightly agree with both of you here. I’m not sure I would call the whole mine sequence filler, but I do think that it feels a little odd coming where it does for two reasons.
Firstly because it feels quite different from the rest of the game so far. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it almost feels like a different game. Maybe it’s because we end up somewhere we didn’t want or plan to be and then have to spend quite a lot of time and effort in getting out? So after we get out the only thing we’ve ‘achieved’ is to get back to where we were! Having said that I enjoy the section and, despite a bit of backtracking, the puzzles are pitched at a good difficulty level. They need some effort but aren’t next level ridiculous.
The second is that the mine sequence comes after the ‘burial chamber and getting the key’ sequence. It feels a little off because in many games with underground burial chambers etc. you spend a lot of time going through something like caverns or a maze or underground passages to get to the objective. Here we don’t even get into the mines until after we’ve got the ‘objective’! It’s not necessarily a problem, but it’s just different.
3.5 time winner of the “Really Annoying Caption Contest Saboteur” Award!
I agree that the mine sequence was not bad per se. On the contrary, it was a pretty fun sequence with good puzzles, apart from that lock/wolf bit. It just felt like it was part of a different game, tacked onto this one. There’s even an embryo of a background story, in the form of the journal written by the guy found dead. Something about an event in the mine, a “ghost” etc. Whether or not that in some way eventually ties in with the story about the Gordon family I don’t remember, but if not it’s kind of pointless that the sequence is even there. I have a feeling this is a case of the developers having created a darling and then couldn’t bring themselves to kill it. I’d love to be proven wrong later in the game though.
Are we allowed to carry on soon?:)
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