Adventure Gamers - Forums

Simon_ASA - 03 February 2013 09:55 AM

If you’re stuck and the walkthrough is not enough, don’t hesitate to ask !

What walkthrough? Or were you referring to the one for the demo?

I just arrived at the binoculars and I was wondering whether the screen is supposed to become extremely pixelated when you look through them. Do I need to solve a puzzle first or is the game doing something weird?

Example screenshot:

Edit: found the answer myself, almost immediately after posting (and I did spend quite some time on it before my post… figures). It’s meant to look this ugly (which I still think is a weird decision, because it makes it seem like your graphics are acting up/there is a glitch).

Image Attachments

Click thumbnail to see full-size image

Simon_ASA - 03 February 2013 05:12 AM

Zifnab :
I believe that “Zifnab’s Guide to Adventure Games” is right : if you can’t finish the demo with the help of the walkthrough, maybe you shouldn’t buy the game
I think it’s once again due to the 1st-person view, which makes it still difficult for some people to know where to look for clues. It was the case in the Myst series for many people who disliked the exploration part because you didn’t know what you missed.
I understand that and if, by chance, I had the occasion to re-work the game (for another system for example), I would consider adding arrows on the views to let you know where you can go/look.

I’m a huge Myst fan but the first puzzle and walkthrough doesn’t make sense to me.

“Translate the door’s code (from the poster) with the Anterran numbers you found earlier and enter the 5 digits code. The door opens.”

The poster has 3 number on it (1,2,3) and the numbers on the piece of paper (1-9) doesn’t tell me anything. It’s my idea of a bad puzzle. Awful games like Schizm and Aura were filled with them.

“Translate the door’s code (from the poster) with the Anterran numbers you found earlier and enter the 5 digits code. The door opens.”

The poster has 3 number on it (1,2,3) and the numbers on the piece of paper (1-9) doesn’t tell me anything. It’s my idea of a bad puzzle. Awful games like Schizm and Aura were filled with them.

Hmm, I felt it was quite easy and the game gave enough hints to solve it. The squares with a line through it are another way of tallying, which is made clear by the how many days have I been here hint. Combined with the hint at the keypad and the paper you find in the pod, you should be able to piece everything together. Are you sure you have all the information there is to find? I feel that most of the puzzles in this game are completely fair and mostly rely on observation and analysis.

And by the way, I’ve already found the answer to my earlier question at the top of this page. It’s meant to be that way.

GreyFuss - 03 February 2013 06:23 PM

Have to disagree with you Zifnab, it is an excellent puzzle. If you are having trouble figuring out how to read the alien numbers then this may not be your type of game. Its unfair to label this a bad puzzle simply because you can’t figure it out.

Primate Ryan & Zifnab

please use spoiler tags as this thread is read by many who have not played the game and not fair to them or the developer. It would be better for those seeking help with the game to post in the Hints Forum.

As the walkthrough for this puzzle was already posted, I thought the little things I said wouldn’t really matter, but I put everything in spoiler tags. I usually err on the safe side.

As for the remark on seeking help, I considered whether I should post here or in the hints forum, but as there is hardly anything to find on the internet on it and there aren’t a lot of people who seemed to have played the game, I thought it might be better to post here, where I was sure to catch at least one of those rare players or Simon himself, who replies to most posts here and would probably have missed a topic in the hints section of the forum. I will keep it in mind for the future though.

GreyFuss - 03 February 2013 06:23 PM

Have to disagree with you Zifnab, it is an excellent puzzle. If you are having trouble figuring out how to read the alien numbers then this may not be your type of game. Its unfair to label this a bad puzzle simply because you can’t figure it out.

I’m a RHEM fan, I finished most of them without walkthroughs. That should tell you enough.

Simon ASA and Primate:
The walkthrough says enter the 5 digit code. I know what the numbers are and I know how to enter them on the pad. Where’s the code? The walkthrough doesn’t tell me this

Zifnab - 03 February 2013 06:47 PM

GreyFuss - 03 February 2013 06:23 PM

Have to disagree with you Zifnab, it is an excellent puzzle. If you are having trouble figuring out how to read the alien numbers then this may not be your type of game. Its unfair to label this a bad puzzle simply because you can’t figure it out.

I’m a RHEM fan, I finished most of them without walkthroughs. That should tell you enough.

Yeah, so it’s more likely that you’re still missing a piece of information as the puzzle is fairly logical. Up until where I am right now, there haven’t been any truly obscure puzzles and I feel they have all been doable with the application of a little bit of thought. You do require all the information though, most of the time, and I would imagine that the puzzles would appear to be unfair if you were to lack a piece.

So you need

1. The piece of yellow paper that can be found on the right side of the screen when facing the broken teleporter
2. The bit of information written on the back of the card left of the keypad.
3. The information written on the wall that you see on the left side when you walk to the keypad and turn around.
.

That should really be enough to solve it. One problem I had with that particular puzzle though is that the line that goes through the cube to signify 5, goes from upper left to bottom right on the wall and from upper right to bottom left on the bit of paper next to the keypad (or the other way around). That was a bit confusing.

Primate Ryan - 03 February 2013 07:01 PM

[spoiler]
1. The piece of yellow paper that can be found on the right side of the screen when facing the broken teleporter
2. The bit of information written on the back of the card left of the keypad.
3. The information written on the wall that you see on the left side when you walk to the keypad and turn around.
[/spoiler].

Card? I don’t see any card. That’s what I must be missing. But I zoom into the keypad and it’s just the buttons.

GreyFuss - 03 February 2013 07:00 PM

I thought you were a fan of that type of game that is why I was surprised at what you said. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t questioning your adventure game ability, simply stating that it is unfair to say it is a “bad Puzzle” when it is not. I’ll bet that once you figure it out you will see how it makes sense and all the hints you needed was nearby

Well, Rhem didn’t hide any clues. I don’t mean to sound arrogant but if I still can’t find the clue with the walkthrough and Primate’s help there’s something wrong…either with me or with the game.

Zifnab - 03 February 2013 07:26 PM

Primate Ryan - 03 February 2013 07:01 PM

[spoiler]
1. The piece of yellow paper that can be found on the right side of the screen when facing the broken teleporter
2. The bit of information written on the back of the card left of the keypad.
3. The information written on the wall that you see on the left side when you walk to the keypad and turn around.
[/spoiler].

Card? I don’t see any card. That’s what I must be missing. But I zoom into the keypad and it’s just the buttons.

Not really a card, but more of a sticker with a loose corner and blue edges.

GreyFuss - 03 February 2013 08:22 PM

Zifnab

I can send you a picture of what you have missed if that will help you.

It’s okay I deleted the demo already. Thanks anyway. I’m not bad at 1st person games but some games I just can’t see the clues. Aura and Schizm were like that and ASA must be another one.

Hmm, that’s a pity. I’m usually quite bad at these games, but I find ASA to be in the exactly-right-for-me zone. The only thing I really had trouble with, was finding one particular item later on, but as I understood it that was the hardest item to find as well. It’s really not as obscure, hard or unfair as you think it is, based on your experience with the first puzzle, I can guarantee that.

Anyway, I managed to get into maintenance. As for the puzzle just before it:

where can you find the information on the Anterrans that you need to solve it? I bruteforced my way through that question, but I must have missed something, somewhere. Was it in one of the diaries?

Onwards towards maintenance and new puzzles then!