Completed Text adventures ahoy! Let's 100% Frederik Pohl's GATEWAY!

Text adventures ahoy! Let's play and 100% Frederik Pohl's GATEWAY! // Done!

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. No place like home
3. Roses and virtual beaches
4. To Blue Hell and back
5. Old Earth Trivia
6. Guns, girls, and blue badges
7. Sigma Dayan Seven
8. Green badge and Aleph Four
9. Getting epic
10. Delta Aurigae Six
11. Kaduna Three
12. Psi Dorma Five
13. Nemira Three, Part 1
14. Nemira Three, Part 2
15. When things go horribly wrong (Nemira Three, bad ending)
16. Endgame? or, To the surface and into the deep
17. Guardian
18. Virtual entertainment
19. Escape from Hell

ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK
(to be updated)
// Youtube -- Opening Theme
// Youtube -- Gateway Prospector Theme
// Youtube -- Blue Hell Bar Theme
// Youtube -- Beach VR Theme
// Youtube -- Flight Theme
// Youtube -- Mission Accomplished Flight Theme
// Youtube -- Delta Aurigae Six Theme
// Youtube -- Delta Aurigae Six Temple Theme
// Youtube -- Shield Generator Activation Theme
// Youtube -- Kaduna Three Theme
// Youtube -- Dorma Five Theme
// Youtube -- Dorma Five Sleep Theme
// Youtube -- Dorma Five Pond Theme
// Youtube -- Nemira Three Theme
// Youtube -- Mission Briefing Theme
// Youtube -- Suspense Theme
// Youtube -- Surface Psych VR Theme
// Youtube -- Deep Psych VR Theme
// Youtube -- Guardian Theme
// Youtube -- Ballroom Theme
// Youtube -- Game Booth Theme
// Youtube -- Hydra Lair Theme
// Youtube -- Demon Gauntlet Theme
// Youtube -- Escape Theme

MOAR!

Frederik Pohl's GATEWAY is a sci-fi graphical text adventure developed by Legend Entertainment in 1992 and based on the books of Frederik Pohl. In 2077, mankind discovers an abandoned alien spaceship on Venus, left behind by a technologically advanced race called the Heechee. This discovery is shortly followed by the discovery of a huge abandoned space station positioned between Venus and Mercury. The spacestation is named Gateway.

It is now the year 2102, and Gateway is run by a huge corporation called Gateway Enterprises. From Gateway, the Heechee ships are sent out, manned by the so called prospectors, to explore space, and hopefully bring back valuable Heechee artifacts. Due to the fact that mankind still hasn't figured out the navigation systems of the Heechee ships, each mission is extremely hazardous, and most people never return, but those who do often get rich.

You're the newest prospector, and your goal is to attain gold and glory. And maybe something else, too...

(Description adapted from Abandonia.)

Why LP this game?
In short, it's cool. I played the game a few times already, and I love it. It has decent-to-good writing, nice story, and awesome atmosphere. Also,

Manual said:

What is a LEGEND adventure game?

In an adventure game from Legend, you become the main character in an evolving story that takes place in a world populated with interesting people, places, and things. You see this world through your main character's eyes, and you play the game by directing his actions.

Like a book or a movie, the story unfolds as you travel from location to location, encountering situations which require action on your part. You can think of each of these situations as a puzzle. The key to solving these puzzles will often be creative thinking and clever use of objects you have picked up in your travels. You will get points as you solve puzzles, and your score will help you monitor your progress.

Throughout the game the richly textured graphics, prose, sound effects and music will draw you into a spellbinding adventure that could only be brought to you by the master storytellers of Legend Entertainment Company.

Click to expand...

So you're saying this will be a 100% LP?
Yup, hopefully. I know the game pretty well, so this isn't a blind playthrough. I did consult the official Hint Book when scouring for the missing points, though, so this isn't a "pure" run, for better or for worse.

Without further ado, let us begin.

Update 1: Introduction

Let's listen to: Frederik Pohl's Gateway OST - Opening Theme
Alternatively:

LEGEND ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY

presents











Someone had come and gone before humans set foot on Venus. The planet was criss-crossed with tunnels carved out of the crust 500,000 years ago by a long vanished high technology civilization.







Eventually Macklin found the right button. Rocket engines ignited and the ancient ship climbed out of the boiling atmosphere of Venus on a plume of white fire. As soon as the ship was clear of the planet, the thrusters stopped and the ship disappeared into what we now know is Tau space.

Macklin's ship parked itself inside a hangar filled with other ships of similar construction. Macklin left his ship and explored his sensational new find with a sense of awe and anticipation.

Macklin decided that if he couldn't go back, he could at least signal his discovery to humanity. His death wouldn't be in vain. Macklin figured out how to detonate the fuel cells in his ship. The resulting flash was sighted by NASA and a mission was sent out to explore.

The government agreed to establish a multinational corporation called Gateway Enterprises (often referred to as "The Corporation") that would occupy Gateway and exploit the technology of the Heechee.

For obvious reasons these missions carry an extraordinary degree of risk: 15% of prospector missions don't come back and 80% return with little or nothing. The remaining 5% make the risks worthwhile, and can turn ordinary people into instant millionaires.

A week after you turned in your winning lottery ticket, you boarded an interplanetary ship traveling from Earth to Gateway.

It is now Wednesday, May 17, 2102, and you have been aboard Gateway for less than a day. You have been assigned living quarters and a proctor to show you around and get you settled in. Your first ship handling class starts later today.

You are about to become a Gateway prospector.



Let's listen to: Frederik Pohl's Gateway OST - Gateway Prospector Theme
Alternatively:





And here we are, boys and girls. This is a text adventure, but a graphical one, meaning there are colourful pictures to look at for those not reading-inclined. Apart from that, this is all a standard text adventure fare, even though you're given a list of commands and a list of objects to interact with. And you can even interact with some objects in the picture using the mouse. Advanced!

The "Status" option brings up the achievement menu. (Achievements, yay!) Our score is 0 at the moment, but hopefully we'll see it reach 1600 by the end of this LP.

Our inventory is empty except for the stuff we're wearing. We're off to a good start, it seems!

Next time: grabbing stuff, exploring around... the usual, you know.

Wow, miss Bee is on a roll!!! Another lp?? A good thing, but didn't you say you would do B.A.T. 2 too? Killy's adventures have not finished yet.

PS: Since the game is a text-based adventure game I expect many ways to die, no?

haha great i didn't know there was a gateway game

i think gateway might have been the first scifi book i ever read back when i was a kid

There are 2.

Would've preferred Eric the Unready or the Spellcasting series but this will do.

Legend did many games based on books, like Shannara, Companions of Xanth & Death Gate games.

A graphic text adventure? That's like the tranny of adventure games.

Just to get you in the mood, here's a snippet:

lightbane said:

... didn't you say you would do B.A.T. 2 too? Killy's adventures have not finished yet.

Click to expand...

I will do B.A.T. 2, sure, but Gateway is an already well-familiar game to me, so this LP will be a more or less quick one. Then I'll go back to Threads of Fate as well as other games in the queque, such as BAT2 and Whale's Voyage 2 (which I finally got working properly).

lightbane said:

PS: Since the game is a text-based adventure game I expect many ways to die, no?

Click to expand...

There are some ways to screw up, of course; I'll see what I can cover.

TripJack said:

haha great i didn't know there was a gateway game

Click to expand...

Like SCO said, there are two. I may or may not LP the second one, I dunno. I like the first one more.

abnaxus said:

Would've preferred Eric the Unready or the Spellcasting series but this will do.

Click to expand...

Spellcasting. Not my kind of game.
Eric the Unready is cool, though. I may LP it at some point.
And I love Shannara. Ah, the nostalgia.

Gateway games are one of my favorite text adventures. The pictures add to the mood a lot.

for making this!

Legend's early games are all awesome.

Can I request a Timequest LP after this one? It's probably the most criminally overlooked of Legend's games.

Will be following this one.

I wanted to make the first update today, but some real-life shit has suddenly appeared out of nowhere, meaning I'm going to be occupied for the next couple of days or so. Sorry for that, folks.

Sceptic said:

Can I request a Timequest LP after this one? It's probably the most criminally overlooked of Legend's games.

Click to expand...

Sure, maybe, why not. I'll need to do a BAT2 LP first, though.

Didn't someone did superhero league of hoboken?

Crooked Bee said:

Sure, maybe, why not. I'll need to do a BAT2 LP first, though.

Click to expand...

YAY to both

SCO said:

Didn't someone did superhero league of hoboken?

Click to expand...

Not according to Microsleva's database. All yours!

I never finish any LP i attempt. Terminal lack of motivation, better wait for someone more focused.

Just saying, that game deserves it.

Could be wrong, but I think one of the Space Rangers 2 devs played this game. Could only be a coincidence, but SR2 text adventures have a similar layout, except for being less complex with options of interaction more limited Carry on.

Just a word of warning: this is going to be a really wordy LP. Like, really. Nothing but words. True story.

Update 2: No place like home

In which we explore our lovely little room, receive some messages, and read the news.

Let's listen to: Frederik Pohl's Gateway OST - Gateway Prospector Theme
Alternatively:



The message light on the PV commset is blinking.

Alright, boys and girls, let's see what we have here.

> examine me

You are a rough and ready prospector, fresh from Earth. You are wearing a one-piece blue coverall.











> cut me

You don't do any significant damage to you.



Poor plant. Let's do something stupid to it.

> kiss plant

Kissing a plant, while it might satisfy some bizarre sexual urge, won't get you anywhere in this game.



> pet plant

Why would you want to pet a plant?

> feel plant

You run your fingers over the plant and feel nothing unusual.

> rub plant

You carefully rub the plant.

> hit plant
> kick plant

You bang on the plant, but it just sits there.

> push plant

The potted plant is attached to the desk. Obviously the Corporation doesn't trust you as much as you thought.

> scare plant

The plant can't be frightened.

> drink plant

You must be getting pretty desperate if you're trying to drink a plant.



> smash plant

You like to break things, don't you?

> yes

Well take it easy. These game objects are fragile.

Let's try saying no...

> smash plant

You like to break things, don't you?

> no

No? Then stop banging on the game objects.





> shoot plant

With what? Your finger?

> yes

You point your finger and say "Bang!" Somehow this has less than the desired effect.

:D



Hmm...

> kiss me

You kiss your arm, practicing for future encounters.





> moon

You bare your backside at nothing in particular.



Hmm, how 'bout some divine assistance?

> pray

You kneel and say a few inspiring words. Now don't you feel better?

> scream

You bellow until your throat gets sore.

> shave

You'd need all kinds of complicated equipment you don't have to properly shave.

> rest

You aren't sleepy right now.



> sing and dance

[That doesn't make any sense to me.]



> sob

You let out a few heaving sobs. Now don't you feel better?



Too bad. We put everything back on.

> throw up

You're not sick enough yet.

> wake up

But you're not even asleep!



Sorry, Codex.

> jump

You jump up and down a few times and then need to rest.

> dive

Diving would cause you severe cranial damage.

> duck

You can run but you can't hide.





> yes

You would?

> yes

Are you sure? VERY sure???

> yes







> take picture

The picture is held to the wall with SuperTak tape. You can't remove the picture without ripping it.



> examine grate

The vent cover is a metal grate. It is closed and secured with a latch that has a distinctive four-leaf-clover pattern on it.

> open latch

The vent cover is latched shut. The latch has a distinctive four-leaf-clover pattern on it that makes you think that you might need a special key to open it.



> close bed

You attempt to raise the bed to an upright and locked position, but the thing won't stay folded!



Let's do something proper now, for a change.



Our first score points!




We need the debit card to be able to use the commset.



> open drawer

You open the drawer and discover a book.



> examine book

The book is a hardcover volume entitled, "Everything We Know About the Heechee."

> read book





The message light on the PV commset is blinking.



> activate commset

[Taking the debit card first.]
You insert your debit card into the slot.



The commset is basically our phone plus news thingie. Let's go through the new messages first.



Some boring class we must attend.



A bar? That should be way more exciting, I hope. We'll be sure to come around... dude.



Terri Neilson. Our representative. We'll remember the name.
That does it for the new messages. Pressing 3 from the main menu lets us access our account balance:



Money are of no real importance in this game, for better or for worse.
Pressing 4 brings us to HOT EARTH NEWS section! I wonder what's been happening on our dear little planet lately...



Oil, catastrophes, billion dollar losses.



Criminal negligence, broken jaws.



Dollars are back!



Nuclear blast, lots killed.



Revolt of micromachines.



A newly discovered Heechee device on display at the Gateway museum. By no means important.



Train crash in Siberia.



Usual eco shit.



Star Trek is apparently still going strong.



Recession aggravated as commodity prices grow.



Mormon Church attacked by a vicious virus.



A plague in India.
@ Iraqi genetic engineers.



Chernobyl finally cleaned up. Too late for Skyway, alas.



Still following this shit? Hopefully not. In any case, Orion Program will be of no importance in the game.



Quake rocks!

And that's it for the news. Phew. One more section left, Bulletin Board and Classifields:



SOMEBODY TALK TO THE HEECHEE!!!







Hey, I've been to Syracuse, NY once. Nice university shithole.



Fuck Chinese restaurants.



This is not funny. Nor important. Movin' on.



Someone should tell him/her to sign up on the Codex.



Ship Shop.



Meh.



Institute of Holography?



Orion program blah blah green badges blah blah room T52... Nevermind.



The German quote is from Schiller's Wallenstein, in case you're wondering.







Quick, Codexers!



Maintenance robots? Again, by no means important.

Phew. Done with the messages and other background stuff. Thankfully.



No gear, nothing. We're empty. Oh well. Time to leave the room, I guess.

> east

[Opening the room door first.]
You leave the barracks that is your temporary home, walk along a narrow alley for a few moments, and reach the center of Heecheetown.



Next time: messing around a bit.

Good update, congratulations on having the first ingame death I suppose another obvious one would be "use knife/gun/whatever on me".

The German quote is from Schiller's Wallenstein, in case you're wondering.

Click to expand...

Does anyone care enough to translate the quote? Just to know.



Actually, that doesn't sound so bad, compared with what we got, a shitty "reimagining" where they amerikwanized everything (like that inane scene with the car) and they turned Spock into an angsty teenager

lightbane said:

The German quote is from Schiller's Wallenstein, in case you're wondering.

Click to expand...

Does anyone care enough to translate the quote? Just to know.

Click to expand...

Sure: "I have enjoyed this world's happiness, I have lived and have loved."

Heard good things about Legend's adventure games. Good choice.

And great format of a LP (animated gifs, colored text etc.) - shit's appreciated.

@ spekkio

Hey Bee, thanks for LPing this!

Awesome update. Very nice layout. With Legend's text dump command you save yourself a LOT of typing. Wish I could do this for my LP's...

Legend's games always give you some very funny (and different each time) text when you try outlandish commands. Eric The Unready is particularly great, mainly because some of the oddball commands are REQUIRED to proceed (like "moon"). I wish I had a hintbook for Gateway, the one for Eric has a list of obscure phrases you can try that give out absolutely hilarious responses.

Ayway loving the LP. MOAR!