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Completed Text adventures ahoy! Let's 100% Frederik Pohl's GATEWAY!
- Thread starter Crooked Bee
- Start date
@ Sceptic
Sure, I want the hint book! Gimme, gimme.
PM sent. Also, I knew about the music, but I didn't know about the SVGA mode, I'll give it a try, thanks.
Update 5: Old Earth Trivia
As promised, in this (bonus) update I will cover the game of Trivia in full.
The History and Geography section comes first.
The correct answer is 3. Quayle, who was George H.W. Bush's running mate in the 1988 presidential election, was often accused of limited political experience as well as ridiculed for being generally incompetent and, like, totally stupid.
A man who couldn't spell the word "potato"? How very unCodexian.
It's 2, New Delhi.
And the answer is 4.
It's 2, San Diego.
Well, 3, South Africa, naturally.
Hmm, 1, Quebec it is.
It's 2, 1996.
This one's easy: 4, Gorbachev.
Apparently they ran out of dinosaurs in the Middle East, 1.
Easy as well: it's 4, Argentina.
And now we switch to section 2, Art & Entertainment
4, black communities, yo.
2, "A Worm in the Apple", an epic tale of worm-infected iPhones.
It's 3, Wirehead!
1, Meurthe-et-Moselle. Apparently there was a nuclear accident in France, after all.
It's obviously 4, "Seventy-Something".
It's 2, and the game probably means Picasso's Jeune fille devant un miroir.
It's 3, even though Les Misérables, both the novel and the musical, wasn't actually set during the time of the French Revolution.
4, Tarmaco Tower. It's "austere, boxy", and thus Bauhaus-ey.
Childhood's End is a novel by Arthur C. Clarke, so the answer is 1.
It's 3, Ran, Kurosawa's famous film.
The Science, Engineering, & Nature section comes next. I already covered it in the previous update, but let's do it again for completeness' sake.
3: Hell yeah, Freedom!
:patriot:
It's 2, Stratosphere.
The answer is 4, Cretaceous. No, not Jurassic.
It's 1, The Trade Needle.
blah blah Moon hoax blah blah. It's 1, anyway.
And the answer is 3, 14 December 2039.
2, Photosphere, yay!
Polaris, 4, is the North Star.
That's 3: wild splash appears, duh!
And the Human Genome Project, 4, was completed in the early 21st century.
Let's now be moving on to the last section of Trivia, Games of All Kinds.
1. Don't even ask.
Flitz? Right glove advance? Oh gosh, just dribble your kleeb already. The answer is 2.
The US of A, 4.
It's 4, Go:
Go is a lovely game, isn't it?
Why, we're playing 1, chess, of course!
4, all of the above.
I've no idea what's going on here, but the correct answer is 2, walk to first base.
It's 3: arcade games, hey!
The answer is 2. Oh my.
This one's easy: "deuce" means 4, the opponents are tied.
And that's it, folks. Hope you've enjoyed our little game of Trivia. 'Til next time!
Sure, I want the hint book! Gimme, gimme.
PM sent. Also, I knew about the music, but I didn't know about the SVGA mode, I'll give it a try, thanks. Update 5: Old Earth Trivia
As promised, in this (bonus) update I will cover the game of Trivia in full.
The History and Geography section comes first.
The correct answer is 3. Quayle, who was George H.W. Bush's running mate in the 1988 presidential election, was often accused of limited political experience as well as ridiculed for being generally incompetent and, like, totally stupid.
Wikipedia said:
A man who couldn't spell the word "potato"? How very unCodexian.
It's 2, New Delhi.
And the answer is 4.
It's 2, San Diego.
Well, 3, South Africa, naturally.
Hmm, 1, Quebec it is.
It's 2, 1996.
This one's easy: 4, Gorbachev.
Apparently they ran out of dinosaurs in the Middle East, 1.
Easy as well: it's 4, Argentina.
And now we switch to section 2, Art & Entertainment
4, black communities, yo.
2, "A Worm in the Apple", an epic tale of worm-infected iPhones.
It's 3, Wirehead!
1, Meurthe-et-Moselle. Apparently there was a nuclear accident in France, after all.
It's obviously 4, "Seventy-Something".
It's 2, and the game probably means Picasso's Jeune fille devant un miroir.
It's 3, even though Les Misérables, both the novel and the musical, wasn't actually set during the time of the French Revolution.
4, Tarmaco Tower. It's "austere, boxy", and thus Bauhaus-ey.
Childhood's End is a novel by Arthur C. Clarke, so the answer is 1.
It's 3, Ran, Kurosawa's famous film.
The Science, Engineering, & Nature section comes next. I already covered it in the previous update, but let's do it again for completeness' sake.
3: Hell yeah, Freedom!
:patriot:
It's 2, Stratosphere.
The answer is 4, Cretaceous. No, not Jurassic.
It's 1, The Trade Needle.
blah blah Moon hoax blah blah. It's 1, anyway.
And the answer is 3, 14 December 2039.
2, Photosphere, yay!
Polaris, 4, is the North Star.
That's 3: wild splash appears, duh!
And the Human Genome Project, 4, was completed in the early 21st century.
Let's now be moving on to the last section of Trivia, Games of All Kinds.
1. Don't even ask.
Flitz? Right glove advance? Oh gosh, just dribble your kleeb already. The answer is 2.
The US of A, 4.
It's 4, Go:
Wikipedia said:
Go is a lovely game, isn't it?
Why, we're playing 1, chess, of course!
4, all of the above.
I've no idea what's going on here, but the correct answer is 2, walk to first base.
It's 3: arcade games, hey!
The answer is 2. Oh my.
This one's easy: "deuce" means 4, the opponents are tied.
And that's it, folks. Hope you've enjoyed our little game of Trivia. 'Til next time!
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2010
- Messages
- 10,872
I didn't remember the trivia game 
Spellcasting 201: The Sorcerer's Appliance
Spellcasting 301: Spring Break
Timequest
Frederik Pohl's Gateway
Gateway 2: Homeworld
Eric the Unready
Aside from Spellcasting 301, they're all great games. Timequest is possibly one of the most criminally underrated games. Even back then it went completely under the radar of most gamers, and while most of the others are still remembered (especially the Spellcasting series) this one sank into complete obscurity. Which is why I keep advertising it all the time.
Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers get all the Girlsasper said:
Spellcasting 201: The Sorcerer's Appliance
Spellcasting 301: Spring Break
Timequest
Frederik Pohl's Gateway
Gateway 2: Homeworld
Eric the Unready
Aside from Spellcasting 301, they're all great games. Timequest is possibly one of the most criminally underrated games. Even back then it went completely under the radar of most gamers, and while most of the others are still remembered (especially the Spellcasting series) this one sank into complete obscurity. Which is why I keep advertising it all the time.
The answers to the Trivia game given in the official hint book are a little bit wrong. Just wanted to let everyone know. Here are the correct answers:
1: History & Geography
3 - 2 - 4 - 2 - 3* - 1 - 2 - 4 - 1 - 4
* 4 in the hint book = incorrect
2: Art & Entertainment
4 - 2 - 4 - 1 - 4* - 2 - 3 - 4 - 1 - 3
* 1 in the hint book = incorrect
3: Science, Engineering, & Nature
3 - 2 - 4 - 1 - 1* - 3 - 2 - 4 - 3 - 4
* 4 in the hint book = incorrect
4: Games of All Kinds
1 - 2 - 4 - 4 - 1 - 4 - 2 - 3 - 2 - 4
1: History & Geography
3 - 2 - 4 - 2 - 3* - 1 - 2 - 4 - 1 - 4
* 4 in the hint book = incorrect
2: Art & Entertainment
4 - 2 - 4 - 1 - 4* - 2 - 3 - 4 - 1 - 3
* 1 in the hint book = incorrect
3: Science, Engineering, & Nature
3 - 2 - 4 - 1 - 1* - 3 - 2 - 4 - 3 - 4
* 4 in the hint book = incorrect
4: Games of All Kinds
1 - 2 - 4 - 4 - 1 - 4 - 2 - 3 - 2 - 4
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2010
- Messages
- 10,872
Heh, another nice feature of hintbooks of old: they were occasionally wrong, forcing you to actually THINK about what you're doing 
I have to say I didn't really read through the book, just skimmed trying to find some funny section, which unfortunately it doesn't seem to have
I have to say I didn't really read through the book, just skimmed trying to find some funny section, which unfortunately it doesn't seem to have
SCO
Arcane
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2009
- Messages
- 16,320
Sceptic said:
Not gonna happen.
I've already beaten the game and captured all the screenshots. Now I just need to write up the next update... Oh well. Chillin' at the moment.
KickAss
Augur
no update
Update 6: Guns, girls, and blue badges
Taking the dropshaft on Level Dog, we arrive down to Level Tanya.
There are three things we can (and must) do on this level. First let's head north.
> examine guard
The guard is dressed in the uniform of a European Space Navy MP, which is not surprising because he is a European Space Navy MP. He looks very bored.
> kiss guard
The beginning of a BROmance? In a Bioware game, that would be it.
> ask about guard
"Piss off!" The MP snarls at you.
To the west is the local armoury.
> examine signs
You read a number of instructive paragraphs about how to disassemble, clean, and store different types of weaponry.
> examine units
The room is filled with weapons storage units. They are secure metal cases that run from floor to ceiling (except for one small storage cabinet near the entrance). You can feel the brooding presence of the massed weapons inside of the locked cases.
> examine cabinet
The small storage cabinet is a dull green metal case about four feet high. A metal grate is almost directly overhead.
On the storage cabinet you see a gun.
> open cabinet
It is locked.
> take gun
You take the gun from the surface of the cabinet.
We've grabbed the gun, but I wonder if we can get past the guard unnoticed...
Oh well. Nothing is easy. Back to the armoury we go.
> examine vent
Set into the wall is a vent for the life support system on Gateway that provides heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. The vent is covered by a metal grate.
Hmmm...
> take gun
You take the gun from the surface of the cabinet.
Remember the key we stole from the aged technician?
> open vent with key
You open the vent cover with the key. Inside the vent is a small button.
[Your score has just gone up by 5.]
> examine button
The button is labelled "CALL MAINTENANCE HVAC/LS ROBOT".
> push button
You push the button. It begins blinking.
[Your score has just gone up by 5.]
> wait
What a lovely little robot! He's so adorable I love him and want to hug him omgIcan'tbelievehowadorableheisCAN-I-NOM-HIS-HEAD?!
> examine robot
The cleaning and maintenance robot looks like a cross between a spider and an erector set. Long, metallic legs sprout from under its complex mechanical body, and a basket is attached to the front of it. You surmise that the container is for garbage and other debris that the robot might find in the course of patrolling the air ducts.
The next step is quite obvious, isn't it?
> put gun in basket
The problem with the guard has been solved. But where can we get our gun back now, I wonder?
Back in Corridor T6, there's a door leading west into a conference room.
Conveniently enough, this the room where the daily conference for new fish takes place. And there's another vent here! But let's have a look around first.
> examine table
The conference table is an uninteresting slab of thermoplastic.
> examine chairs
The conference table is surrounded by comfortable looking chairs.
> examine viewscreen
The viewscreen is a standard feature of conference rooms. It replaced the standard blackboard and whiteboard in the early twenty-first century and has hung on stubbornly since then.
Nothing of much interest. Let's rather retrieve our gun.
> examine vent
Set into the wall is a vent for the life support system on Gateway that provides heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. The vent is covered by a metal grate.
> open vent with key
You open the vent cover with the key. Inside the vent is a small button.
> push button
You push the button. It begins blinking.
The gun's intact.
> take gun
You take the gun from the robot's waste container.
[Your score has just gone up by 15.]
And now we should wait here until 15:00 -- the time that the conference begins. As you may remember, the conference is where we're supposed to receive our basic prospector badge.
Now that we've got the gun... let's go on a rampage perhaps?
> shoot guard
Oops, wrong idea. I guess we should peacefully stay in the conference room for now.
> sit
You sit down on one of the seats near the table.
And then it's 15:00.
Uhm, shall we go crazy again?
> shoot hector
Killing spree!
And what about them prospectors? Kill the rivals!
> shoot prospector
The gun is confiscated and returned to the Armory.
Meh. Let's proceed normally, then.
> examine man
Hector Gomez is about five foot nine, plump, with a receding hairline and a friendly face. He is wearing a Corporation science staff uniform.
A few stragglers run down the corridor and rush into the conference room.
"The DataMan personal information systems that were issued by your proctors contain almost all of the material that we will cover today. When you actually sign up for a mission, you will be able to use your DataMan to look up reference information.
"The good news is that these Heechee ships are not hard to operate. In fact, they are pretty much idiot proof. Much easier than driving a car. They steer themselves and require no maintenance. I will now walk through the information contained in your DataMan about the Corporation, the ships, and a typical mission profile.
Finally Hector concludes the rote repetition of material from the DataMan. You shake your head, yawn, and return your attention to the front of the room.
We're given six codes that, as Thom Seldridge told us earlier, have very little chance of success. I wonder if we get lucky.
"To sign up for a mission, just go down to the hangar entrance on Level Tanya with your blue badge. The agent will sign you up, escort you to a prepped ship, and then help you enter the course codes that have been assigned to you into the onboard computer."
[Your score has just gone up by 10.]
We have a blue badge now. Swell.
> examine uniform
Hector is dressed in a Corporation Science Section uniform.
Hector looks around. "Questions? Feel free to ask me about anything."
> kiss Hector
> kiss prospector
> examine students
Your fellow new fish look frightened and homesick.
Hector smiles. "Anything at all."
> ask Hector about badge
"Once you are flight crew you are able to sign up for prospecting missions."
Hector waves. "Class dismissed." The conference room empties. The class is over.
> examine badge
The badge is a blue plastic card with an obsidian black strip on one side.
You are wearing the badge.
Another conference room is nearby, but we have no bussiness here at the moment. Let's rather give the new codes a try and see if we can go on a couple of prospectoring missions.
We head to the hangar.
> examine agent
The agent is an attractive woman in her mid-thirties. She is dressed in a Corporation uniform. She is standing behind the counter.
> examine agent uniform
The agent is dressed in a brown tunic.
> examine sentry
The sentry is dressed in a U.S. Space Marine MP uniform. He looks competent, bored, contemptuous, and indifferent all at the same time.
> kiss sentry
> kiss agent
What's up with these two?
> talk to agent
"Badge, please."
> give badge to agent
[Removing the blue badge first.]
The agent looks up your identification. "I'm sorry, but you're not listed in the computer yet. Please try back tomorrow."
Alright, we return the next day.
> give badge to agent
The agent finally stops in front of one of the ships and gestures grandly. "This is it. Now give me your badge and I'll program the on-board computer." You hand her your badge and she clambers aboard the ship.
A few minutes later she re-appears. "Okay, sport. Just press the CODE button and you'll see the codes that the Corporation has assigned to you. You're set to go. I'll leave you to it -- good luck and good hunting." She returns your badge and walks away. You are left alone in the dock.
> examine ship
> climb ladder
> examine coil
The coil that inexplicably changes color during space travel is currently blue.
> examine control panel
[Closing the hatch first.]
Mounted in front of the seat is a blue control panel. On the panel you see several buttons and a small man-made video display unit.
This is the Heechee ship control interface. It's all pretty easy. You select the desired code, either automatically from among those assigned to you or manually, and press the GO button. The INFO buttons tells you your location: currently it's Docked in Gateway hangar.
We select the very first code and press GO.
We arrive someplace hot.
I guess we can write this code off.
We automatically return to the hangar and receive 25 points for having gone on our first mission.
Your ship returns to the dock at Gateway, and you undergo debriefing procedures.
You are awarded a mission bangle.
[Your score has just gone up by 25.]
You are returned to the Hangar Entrance.
Back in the Heechee ship, we select the second code and press GO. Note how the code we've already tried out has a short description now, lest we should forget where it took us.
Nice view here.
Oops, it's dangerous here. Looks like the second code is useless, too.
And to the third destination we fly.
Again, nothing of interest.
So maybe the fourth code will get us somewhere meaningful?
Guess not.
And the fifth destination code it is!
No luck here as well.
You may be wondering if the sixth code is any good. Well, it is, but I'll leave that for the next update. For now, let's see what happens if we manually input a random code.
Looks like an exercise in futility. Well, it's not like I expected anything else from this.
We exit the hangar and return to Level Dog. From the centre of Heecheetown, we head south.
> examine pipework
The corridor structure is made of metal mesh. Through the mesh you can see clusters of pipes, ducts, and wires. These are the arteries for the air, water, power, and data that make Gateway habitable for human beings.
And then we go further south -- to the Gateway Museum.
> examine exhibits
There are display cases filled with exhibits all around the museum. Floodlights on the walls illuminate many of the objects on display.
> examine pedestal
The black obsidian pedestal is about four feet high. It has a smooth upper surface and a silver plaque affixed to one side. On the display stand you see a Heechee artifact that looks like a tuning fork.
> examine fork
The artifact looks like a conventional tuning fork, about ten inches long with a square base and two long tines. It is made of silver-blue Heechee metal.
> examine plaque
> examine stand
The elegant chrome display stand gleams gently in the subdued light. You notice a small sign on one side. On the display stand you see a Heechee device that looks like a cross between a toaster oven and a mail box.
> read sign
> examine device
The strange looking device is about the size and shape of a toaster oven. An opening on one side reveals mirrored interior surfaces. On top of the device is a circular depression, about ten centimeters across.
> examine depression
The circular depression is on the top of the device, and is about ten centimeters in diameter.
Remember the medallion we won from Nubar? It seems to be of the same size and shape that the depression in the Heechee device.
> put medallion into depression
You insert the disk into the depression. As it drops into place, the device begins to hum and the air above the disk shimmers.
[Your score has just gone up by 5.]
And now we must act quickly. These are museum exhibits, after all, and they are guarded.
> take fork
If we get arrested, we'll have to pay a fine...
...and if we get arrested three times in a row, we get thrown out into space, no further questions asked...
...but we have a couple of minutes before the police arrive, so we set up a fraud.
> put fork in device
Now that the hologram has appeared, it stays in one place and we can manipulate it by manipulating the medallion.
> take hologram
Note the image of the fork floating above the device.
> put hologram on pedestal
And voilà, we've replaced the real fork with a duplicate one. Typical adventure game puzzle, isn't it?
And now we can remove the real one from the device.
> take fork
You take the tuning fork from the Heechee device.
Alright, so we have a fork. It'll surely come in handy. I mean, we received score points for it, so it must.
Next on our schedule is meeting Terri Neilson, our personal Corporation representative, the one Thom Seldridge told us about: "She's actually pretty cool, almost a regular guy. She even comes into the Blue Hell for a drink on some nights. You might actually have a chance of getting one of those green badges if she goes easy on you."
And we really need a green badge, given the failure that our current destination codes are. So let's wait for Terri at the Blue Hell Bar and try to get on her good side. She appears at the bar at 22:00.
> examine Terri
You know what we must do, don't you?
> kiss Terri
The famous Gateway robotic bartender trundles over to where you are standing. It extends a tray bearing a full glass. Terri raises her right eyebrow and reaches over to pick up her drink. She studies the glass, smiles, and then takes a sip.
Terri taps her hand on the bar counter.
She looks bored, and that might be good for us.
> ask Terri about bar
"I find this place more stimulating than the Executive Lounge."
Terri takes a sip of her drink.
The robotic bartender trundles away.
> ask Terri about Executive Lounge
"A quaint little club place."
Terri smiles and waves at someone walking by.
> ask Terri about Gateway
"Humanity has never had an opportunity like this before. I feel privileged to be a part of the most important exploration program in history."
Terri drinks from her glass.
> ask Terri about Terri
"I am a deputy director of the Exploration Program Section of Gateway Enterprises."
Terri finishes her drink and drops it on the tray of the bartender as it goes by.
On to business.
> ask Terri about Orion
A serious lady with a serious attitude.
"The Orion Program, otherwise known as the Orion Special Exploration Initiative, is one of the most promising research efforts currently under way on this station. An exclusive group of limited partners has been given a chance to work with the Corporation Science Section to exploit the first real breakthrough in understanding the Heechee ship guidance systems.
"I have sponsored only twenty-five prospectors for participation in the Orion Program since I was promoted to deputy director. To give you some idea of how few that is, consider this: I have been responsible for more than three hundred prospectors at one time or another over the last two years!"
Sounds like a challenge!
"What that means for you, new fish, is two trips out and an entry in your DataMan logbook that shows you brought back something that nobody else has found. That's a pretty tall order. Now I'm going to break a Corporation regulation and give you my direct PV number."
Terri writes a number on a cocktail napkin and hands it to you. "A number of years ago I used to be a prospector, much like you. Then the Corporation recruited me to be a transport pilot. I made the Earth-L5 run, then I ferried supplies to and from Gateway, Venus, and the two Delta stations in orbit around Mercury."
[Your score has just gone up by 10.]
"I flew the Rockwell/MBB medium range shuttles that the Corporation uses for most of its resupply missions. Those suckers are huge -- five hundred feet long, a hundred feet in diameter, even bigger than the transport you came out on."
Terri smiles quickly. "I need to get going. You're a lucky new fish. If I spent as much time with each of my prospectors as I just did with you, I would never get anything done. So long." Terri gets up and walks away.
> read napkin
Scrawled on the napkin is the number '09-7495.'
Good. You know what to do now -- invite Terri on a date, of course!
...
Oh well. No date. :/
Next time: going on a real mission!
Taking the dropshaft on Level Dog, we arrive down to Level Tanya.
There are three things we can (and must) do on this level. First let's head north.
> examine guard
The guard is dressed in the uniform of a European Space Navy MP, which is not surprising because he is a European Space Navy MP. He looks very bored.
> kiss guard
The beginning of a BROmance? In a Bioware game, that would be it.> ask about guard
"Piss off!" The MP snarls at you.
To the west is the local armoury.
> examine signs
You read a number of instructive paragraphs about how to disassemble, clean, and store different types of weaponry.
> examine units
The room is filled with weapons storage units. They are secure metal cases that run from floor to ceiling (except for one small storage cabinet near the entrance). You can feel the brooding presence of the massed weapons inside of the locked cases.
> examine cabinet
The small storage cabinet is a dull green metal case about four feet high. A metal grate is almost directly overhead.
On the storage cabinet you see a gun.
> open cabinet
It is locked.
> take gun
You take the gun from the surface of the cabinet.
We've grabbed the gun, but I wonder if we can get past the guard unnoticed...
Oh well. Nothing is easy. Back to the armoury we go.
> examine vent
Set into the wall is a vent for the life support system on Gateway that provides heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. The vent is covered by a metal grate.
Hmmm...
> take gun
You take the gun from the surface of the cabinet.
Remember the key we stole from the aged technician?
> open vent with key
You open the vent cover with the key. Inside the vent is a small button.
[Your score has just gone up by 5.]
> examine button
The button is labelled "CALL MAINTENANCE HVAC/LS ROBOT".
> push button
You push the button. It begins blinking.
[Your score has just gone up by 5.]
> wait
What a lovely little robot! He's so adorable I love him and want to hug him omgIcan'tbelievehowadorableheisCAN-I-NOM-HIS-HEAD?!
> examine robot
The cleaning and maintenance robot looks like a cross between a spider and an erector set. Long, metallic legs sprout from under its complex mechanical body, and a basket is attached to the front of it. You surmise that the container is for garbage and other debris that the robot might find in the course of patrolling the air ducts.
The next step is quite obvious, isn't it?
> put gun in basket
The problem with the guard has been solved. But where can we get our gun back now, I wonder?
Back in Corridor T6, there's a door leading west into a conference room.
Conveniently enough, this the room where the daily conference for new fish takes place. And there's another vent here! But let's have a look around first.
> examine table
The conference table is an uninteresting slab of thermoplastic.
> examine chairs
The conference table is surrounded by comfortable looking chairs.
> examine viewscreen
The viewscreen is a standard feature of conference rooms. It replaced the standard blackboard and whiteboard in the early twenty-first century and has hung on stubbornly since then.
Nothing of much interest. Let's rather retrieve our gun.
> examine vent
Set into the wall is a vent for the life support system on Gateway that provides heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. The vent is covered by a metal grate.
> open vent with key
You open the vent cover with the key. Inside the vent is a small button.
> push button
You push the button. It begins blinking.
The gun's intact.
> take gun
You take the gun from the robot's waste container.
[Your score has just gone up by 15.]
And now we should wait here until 15:00 -- the time that the conference begins. As you may remember, the conference is where we're supposed to receive our basic prospector badge.
Now that we've got the gun... let's go on a rampage perhaps?
> shoot guard
Oops, wrong idea. I guess we should peacefully stay in the conference room for now.
> sit
You sit down on one of the seats near the table.
And then it's 15:00.
Uhm, shall we go crazy again?
> shoot hector
Killing spree!
And what about them prospectors? Kill the rivals!
> shoot prospector
The gun is confiscated and returned to the Armory.
Meh. Let's proceed normally, then.
> examine man
Hector Gomez is about five foot nine, plump, with a receding hairline and a friendly face. He is wearing a Corporation science staff uniform.
A few stragglers run down the corridor and rush into the conference room.
"The DataMan personal information systems that were issued by your proctors contain almost all of the material that we will cover today. When you actually sign up for a mission, you will be able to use your DataMan to look up reference information.
"The good news is that these Heechee ships are not hard to operate. In fact, they are pretty much idiot proof. Much easier than driving a car. They steer themselves and require no maintenance. I will now walk through the information contained in your DataMan about the Corporation, the ships, and a typical mission profile.
Finally Hector concludes the rote repetition of material from the DataMan. You shake your head, yawn, and return your attention to the front of the room.
We're given six codes that, as Thom Seldridge told us earlier, have very little chance of success. I wonder if we get lucky.
"To sign up for a mission, just go down to the hangar entrance on Level Tanya with your blue badge. The agent will sign you up, escort you to a prepped ship, and then help you enter the course codes that have been assigned to you into the onboard computer."
[Your score has just gone up by 10.]
We have a blue badge now. Swell.
> examine uniform
Hector is dressed in a Corporation Science Section uniform.
Hector looks around. "Questions? Feel free to ask me about anything."
> kiss Hector
> kiss prospector
> examine students
Your fellow new fish look frightened and homesick.
Hector smiles. "Anything at all."
> ask Hector about badge
"Once you are flight crew you are able to sign up for prospecting missions."
Hector waves. "Class dismissed." The conference room empties. The class is over.
> examine badge
The badge is a blue plastic card with an obsidian black strip on one side.
You are wearing the badge.
Another conference room is nearby, but we have no bussiness here at the moment. Let's rather give the new codes a try and see if we can go on a couple of prospectoring missions.
We head to the hangar.
> examine agent
The agent is an attractive woman in her mid-thirties. She is dressed in a Corporation uniform. She is standing behind the counter.
> examine agent uniform
The agent is dressed in a brown tunic.
> examine sentry
The sentry is dressed in a U.S. Space Marine MP uniform. He looks competent, bored, contemptuous, and indifferent all at the same time.
> kiss sentry
> kiss agent
What's up with these two?
> talk to agent
"Badge, please."
> give badge to agent
[Removing the blue badge first.]
The agent looks up your identification. "I'm sorry, but you're not listed in the computer yet. Please try back tomorrow."
Alright, we return the next day.
> give badge to agent
The agent finally stops in front of one of the ships and gestures grandly. "This is it. Now give me your badge and I'll program the on-board computer." You hand her your badge and she clambers aboard the ship.
A few minutes later she re-appears. "Okay, sport. Just press the CODE button and you'll see the codes that the Corporation has assigned to you. You're set to go. I'll leave you to it -- good luck and good hunting." She returns your badge and walks away. You are left alone in the dock.
> examine ship
> climb ladder
> examine coil
The coil that inexplicably changes color during space travel is currently blue.
> examine control panel
[Closing the hatch first.]
Mounted in front of the seat is a blue control panel. On the panel you see several buttons and a small man-made video display unit.
This is the Heechee ship control interface. It's all pretty easy. You select the desired code, either automatically from among those assigned to you or manually, and press the GO button. The INFO buttons tells you your location: currently it's Docked in Gateway hangar.
We select the very first code and press GO.
We arrive someplace hot.
I guess we can write this code off.
We automatically return to the hangar and receive 25 points for having gone on our first mission.
Your ship returns to the dock at Gateway, and you undergo debriefing procedures.
You are awarded a mission bangle.
[Your score has just gone up by 25.]
You are returned to the Hangar Entrance.
Back in the Heechee ship, we select the second code and press GO. Note how the code we've already tried out has a short description now, lest we should forget where it took us.
Nice view here.
Oops, it's dangerous here. Looks like the second code is useless, too.
And to the third destination we fly.
Again, nothing of interest.
So maybe the fourth code will get us somewhere meaningful?
Guess not.
And the fifth destination code it is!
No luck here as well.
You may be wondering if the sixth code is any good. Well, it is, but I'll leave that for the next update. For now, let's see what happens if we manually input a random code.
Looks like an exercise in futility. Well, it's not like I expected anything else from this.
We exit the hangar and return to Level Dog. From the centre of Heecheetown, we head south.
> examine pipework
The corridor structure is made of metal mesh. Through the mesh you can see clusters of pipes, ducts, and wires. These are the arteries for the air, water, power, and data that make Gateway habitable for human beings.
And then we go further south -- to the Gateway Museum.
> examine exhibits
There are display cases filled with exhibits all around the museum. Floodlights on the walls illuminate many of the objects on display.
> examine pedestal
The black obsidian pedestal is about four feet high. It has a smooth upper surface and a silver plaque affixed to one side. On the display stand you see a Heechee artifact that looks like a tuning fork.
> examine fork
The artifact looks like a conventional tuning fork, about ten inches long with a square base and two long tines. It is made of silver-blue Heechee metal.
> examine plaque
> examine stand
The elegant chrome display stand gleams gently in the subdued light. You notice a small sign on one side. On the display stand you see a Heechee device that looks like a cross between a toaster oven and a mail box.
> read sign
> examine device
The strange looking device is about the size and shape of a toaster oven. An opening on one side reveals mirrored interior surfaces. On top of the device is a circular depression, about ten centimeters across.
> examine depression
The circular depression is on the top of the device, and is about ten centimeters in diameter.
Remember the medallion we won from Nubar? It seems to be of the same size and shape that the depression in the Heechee device.
> put medallion into depression
You insert the disk into the depression. As it drops into place, the device begins to hum and the air above the disk shimmers.
[Your score has just gone up by 5.]
And now we must act quickly. These are museum exhibits, after all, and they are guarded.
> take fork
If we get arrested, we'll have to pay a fine...
...and if we get arrested three times in a row, we get thrown out into space, no further questions asked...
...but we have a couple of minutes before the police arrive, so we set up a fraud.
> put fork in device
Now that the hologram has appeared, it stays in one place and we can manipulate it by manipulating the medallion.
> take hologram
Note the image of the fork floating above the device.
> put hologram on pedestal
And voilà, we've replaced the real fork with a duplicate one. Typical adventure game puzzle, isn't it?
And now we can remove the real one from the device.
> take fork
You take the tuning fork from the Heechee device.
Alright, so we have a fork. It'll surely come in handy. I mean, we received score points for it, so it must.
Next on our schedule is meeting Terri Neilson, our personal Corporation representative, the one Thom Seldridge told us about: "She's actually pretty cool, almost a regular guy. She even comes into the Blue Hell for a drink on some nights. You might actually have a chance of getting one of those green badges if she goes easy on you."
And we really need a green badge, given the failure that our current destination codes are. So let's wait for Terri at the Blue Hell Bar and try to get on her good side. She appears at the bar at 22:00.
> examine Terri
You know what we must do, don't you?
> kiss Terri
The famous Gateway robotic bartender trundles over to where you are standing. It extends a tray bearing a full glass. Terri raises her right eyebrow and reaches over to pick up her drink. She studies the glass, smiles, and then takes a sip.
Terri taps her hand on the bar counter.
She looks bored, and that might be good for us.
> ask Terri about bar
"I find this place more stimulating than the Executive Lounge."
Terri takes a sip of her drink.
The robotic bartender trundles away.
> ask Terri about Executive Lounge
"A quaint little club place."
Terri smiles and waves at someone walking by.
> ask Terri about Gateway
"Humanity has never had an opportunity like this before. I feel privileged to be a part of the most important exploration program in history."
Terri drinks from her glass.
> ask Terri about Terri
"I am a deputy director of the Exploration Program Section of Gateway Enterprises."
Terri finishes her drink and drops it on the tray of the bartender as it goes by.
On to business.
> ask Terri about Orion
A serious lady with a serious attitude.
"The Orion Program, otherwise known as the Orion Special Exploration Initiative, is one of the most promising research efforts currently under way on this station. An exclusive group of limited partners has been given a chance to work with the Corporation Science Section to exploit the first real breakthrough in understanding the Heechee ship guidance systems.
"I have sponsored only twenty-five prospectors for participation in the Orion Program since I was promoted to deputy director. To give you some idea of how few that is, consider this: I have been responsible for more than three hundred prospectors at one time or another over the last two years!"
Sounds like a challenge!
"What that means for you, new fish, is two trips out and an entry in your DataMan logbook that shows you brought back something that nobody else has found. That's a pretty tall order. Now I'm going to break a Corporation regulation and give you my direct PV number."
Terri writes a number on a cocktail napkin and hands it to you. "A number of years ago I used to be a prospector, much like you. Then the Corporation recruited me to be a transport pilot. I made the Earth-L5 run, then I ferried supplies to and from Gateway, Venus, and the two Delta stations in orbit around Mercury."
[Your score has just gone up by 10.]
"I flew the Rockwell/MBB medium range shuttles that the Corporation uses for most of its resupply missions. Those suckers are huge -- five hundred feet long, a hundred feet in diameter, even bigger than the transport you came out on."
Terri smiles quickly. "I need to get going. You're a lucky new fish. If I spent as much time with each of my prospectors as I just did with you, I would never get anything done. So long." Terri gets up and walks away.
> read napkin
Scrawled on the napkin is the number '09-7495.'
Good. You know what to do now -- invite Terri on a date, of course!
...
Oh well. No date. :/
Next time: going on a real mission!
PrzeSzkoda
Augur
Disturbing lack of romance and/or fireside elven buttsex in this game. We sure have come a long way thanks to the BioWare Doctors!
Random trivia fact: in the BioWare-produced NWN module Shadows of Undrentide you can make passes at at least 3 or 4 wimmen throuought the game, and you get shot down each and every time (one of the passes is sorta succesful, but it ends in but a promise of hawt sexorz after you've dealt with all the region's troubles.) You can also attempt to perform distasteful rape on a dwarven girl
but fail and make her daddy angry.
Yes, we sure have come a long way thanks to BioWare.
To be more on topic:
Lovin' the LP and the game.
Random trivia fact: in the BioWare-produced NWN module Shadows of Undrentide you can make passes at at least 3 or 4 wimmen throuought the game, and you get shot down each and every time (one of the passes is sorta succesful, but it ends in but a promise of hawt sexorz after you've dealt with all the region's troubles.) You can also attempt to perform distasteful rape on a dwarven girl
but fail and make her daddy angry.Yes, we sure have come a long way thanks to BioWare.
To be more on topic:
Lovin' the LP and the game.
SCO
Arcane
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2009
- Messages
- 16,320
Larry Niven books make no sense. Why the fuck not place a robot pressing buttons?
edit: Opps, committed a small error : Frederik Pohl (hey, i was replacing a actual shitty author in my mind, i liked The Space Merchants way back then)
Though this looks interesting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oath_of_Fealty_%28novel%29
edit: Opps, committed a small error : Frederik Pohl (hey, i was replacing a actual shitty author in my mind, i liked The Space Merchants way back then)
Though this looks interesting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oath_of_Fealty_%28novel%29
Sceptic said:
Thanks, I've edited it into the last update. If we get arrested three times in a row, it looks like we get thrown out into space, no further questions asked:
I just noticed that there's a LP of Shannara on the Codex Playground as well.
Man, all Legend Entertainment's games based on fantasy/sci fi books are great (didn't they do Death Gate as well?). Even the Wheel of Time FPS is brilliant.
Man, all Legend Entertainment's games based on fantasy/sci fi books are great (didn't they do Death Gate as well?). Even the Wheel of Time FPS is brilliant.
Hellraiser
Arcane
Hey you might have found no rock worthy of landing on it but at least you didn't end up inside a star or near an evil precursor race dreadnought.
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2010
- Messages
- 10,872
Yeah, and most of their non-based-on-books are great too: Spellcasting (especially 101), Eric The Unready, Superhero League of Hoboken, Timequest... Of the based-on-books ones there's also Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, which is pretty awesome. Though Xanth and Shanarra were pretty weak, I'd say their weakest games. Pretty surprising especially since Shanarra was designed by the Coles, of Quest for Glory fame.abnaxus said:
And I must once again insist that Timequest is one of the best games evar and a must play for anyone even remotely interested in Legend, IF, or adventure games. It really is one hell of an obscure masterpiece.
ION I already finished the game. What's wrong Crooked Bee? Are you going to wait for me to finish Homeworld before you post a new update?
Shannara did have some awesome C&C though. IIRC you could choose to save the girl you were normally expected to marry but this would make it impossible to kill the bad guy... and right at the end you could make the wrong choice and doom the world anyway.
Shannara is awesome. At least I remember it that way. Wasted lots of hours on it many years ago. I think it was the only Legend Ent game I played back then. Loved it.
Well, you could always start a Timequest LP yourself if you have that much time on your hands, you know.
Sceptic said:ION I already finished the game. What's wrong Crooked Bee? Are you going to wait for me to finish Homeworld before you post a new update?
Well, you could always start a Timequest LP yourself if you have that much time on your hands, you know.
SCO
Arcane
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2009
- Messages
- 16,320
Shannara is not good, but superhero league is very good and a fine entry into the adventure-rpg pantheon.
It's also pretty surprisingly post-apocalyptic atmospheric - for a comedy game. I think it's the music.
It's also a game that will please explorerfags... in a unusual tiled way to what they're accustomed to.
It's also pretty surprisingly post-apocalyptic atmospheric - for a comedy game. I think it's the music.
It's also a game that will please explorerfags... in a unusual tiled way to what they're accustomed to.
Update 7: Sigma Dayan Seven
As you may remember, last time I didn't demonstrate where the final, sixth course code would take us.
That's because, all too conveniently, it takes us just where we need to go in order to complete a mission for Terri Neilson. Suspension of disbelief: on.
Some Heechee metal is exactly what we're looking for. We press the "Land" button.
Fancy landing animation!
The ship lands on the planet's surface, and we examine and then wear the spacesuit.
> open hatch
You open the cabin hatch and the pressurized air of the ship's cabin is drawn out with a loud hiss.
> down
The planet looks barren and not exactly welcoming.
> examine gray dust
The surface of the planet is covered with gray dust. The only features in the sea of dust are meteorite impact craters.
> taste dust
You scoop up a handful of the dust but it sifts back through your fingers.
> smell
You can't smell anything while wearing that spacesuit.
Oops.
> examine cliff
The cliff is a sheer face except for a rocky outcropping about a third of the way up.
> take off spacesuit
To remove the spacesuit would mean certain death.
Unfortunately, the game just won't let us die this way. :/
> south
> examine plain
A sea of gray dust extends as far as the eye can see.
Grey, grey, nothing but grey.
> examine rock fragments
Rock fragments are scattered about.
> take rock fragment
There is nothing terribly interesting about the rock fragments.
Oh FFS. That's for me to decide! Perhaps I wanna hug them and kiss them. Stupid game.
We head back to the ship and then north.
> examine blast zone
You can see your ship standing in the scar created by its jets.
> examine hole
A roughly circular opening leads into the rock. You can see the deep blue glow of Heechee metal inside the cave.
> examine overhang
The cliff is a sheer face except for a rocky outcropping about a third of the way up. In the underside of the outcropping you see a cave opening.
If we go east, we get this message:
You wander along the base of the cliff for several hundred meters, find nothing, and return.
So west it is.
And west again.
> examine rockslide
A pile of rocks, debris, and dust rests against the side of the cliff.
We climb the pile.
The edge of the cliff continues to the east. A rockslide directly to the south provides a path to the base of the cliff, but the footing looks treacherous.
To the west is nothing, therefore we head east --
-- and then east again:
You walk along the top of the mesa.
Our ship is right to the south of here, meaning we must be standing precisely above the outcropping. And well, you know what we must do to be able to reach it... But first things first.
> examine ship
> examine rock
The gray boulder is a rough ball of rock about three meters in diameter. It is sitting right on the edge of the cliff.
> kick rock
Good, let's go back now.
> south
You start to pick your way down through the debris, but suddenly your foot slips and you find yourself riding a wild avalanche of rocks down the face of the cliff. A few chaotic moments later, you wind up at the base of the cliff feeling bumped and bruised, but otherwise none the worse for wear.
We head east along the base of the cliff.
And here we are. In a simplest of adventure game puzzles, the cave is now perfectly accessible. Let's climb up.
But wait... what's this?
After a few seconds it fades away, leaving a solid wall again.
Hmm, looks like another puzzle. The opening only appears for a very short moment, its location changing clockwise, and we must figure out where it's going to appear the next moment in order to enter it. Otherwise, this happens:
After a few seconds it fades away, leaving a solid wall again.
But we're smarter than that, aren't we?
Multiple tunnel entrances lie to the east, southeast, south, southwest, and west.
You see a hexagonal metal box here.
[Your score has just gone up by 15.]
> examine box
In the center of the ovoid room where all of the ribs converge is a strange hexagonal metal box. It is about thirty centimeters across and twenty centimeters deep, and seems to be made of solid Heechee metal.
Just what we need, I think.
> take box
And then we exit the ovoid room.
You enter one of the tunnel entrances and walk through a narrow, claustrophobic passageway until you reach a blank metal wall. You wait a few moments until a portal appears, then launch yourself through the irregular opening into the chamber beyond. You land on your shoulder, roll once, and then stand up.
Extreme!
But anyway. It's high time we went back to the ship.
We press "Orbit", and then "Return".
Hey, $25000! We sure could use that.
But more importantly, we now have a good reason to call Terri.
Next time: green badges -- and more!
As you may remember, last time I didn't demonstrate where the final, sixth course code would take us.
That's because, all too conveniently, it takes us just where we need to go in order to complete a mission for Terri Neilson. Suspension of disbelief: on.
Some Heechee metal is exactly what we're looking for. We press the "Land" button.
Fancy landing animation!
The ship lands on the planet's surface, and we examine and then wear the spacesuit.
> open hatch
You open the cabin hatch and the pressurized air of the ship's cabin is drawn out with a loud hiss.
> down
The planet looks barren and not exactly welcoming.
> examine gray dust
The surface of the planet is covered with gray dust. The only features in the sea of dust are meteorite impact craters.
> taste dust
You scoop up a handful of the dust but it sifts back through your fingers.
> smell
You can't smell anything while wearing that spacesuit.
Oops.
> examine cliff
The cliff is a sheer face except for a rocky outcropping about a third of the way up.
> take off spacesuit
To remove the spacesuit would mean certain death.
Unfortunately, the game just won't let us die this way. :/
> south
> examine plain
A sea of gray dust extends as far as the eye can see.
Grey, grey, nothing but grey.
> examine rock fragments
Rock fragments are scattered about.
> take rock fragment
There is nothing terribly interesting about the rock fragments.
Oh FFS. That's for me to decide! Perhaps I wanna hug them and kiss them. Stupid game.
We head back to the ship and then north.
> examine blast zone
You can see your ship standing in the scar created by its jets.
> examine hole
A roughly circular opening leads into the rock. You can see the deep blue glow of Heechee metal inside the cave.
> examine overhang
The cliff is a sheer face except for a rocky outcropping about a third of the way up. In the underside of the outcropping you see a cave opening.
If we go east, we get this message:
You wander along the base of the cliff for several hundred meters, find nothing, and return.
So west it is.
And west again.
> examine rockslide
A pile of rocks, debris, and dust rests against the side of the cliff.
We climb the pile.
The edge of the cliff continues to the east. A rockslide directly to the south provides a path to the base of the cliff, but the footing looks treacherous.
To the west is nothing, therefore we head east --
-- and then east again:
You walk along the top of the mesa.
Our ship is right to the south of here, meaning we must be standing precisely above the outcropping. And well, you know what we must do to be able to reach it... But first things first.
> examine ship
> examine rock
The gray boulder is a rough ball of rock about three meters in diameter. It is sitting right on the edge of the cliff.
> kick rock
Good, let's go back now.
> south
You start to pick your way down through the debris, but suddenly your foot slips and you find yourself riding a wild avalanche of rocks down the face of the cliff. A few chaotic moments later, you wind up at the base of the cliff feeling bumped and bruised, but otherwise none the worse for wear.
We head east along the base of the cliff.
And here we are. In a simplest of adventure game puzzles, the cave is now perfectly accessible. Let's climb up.
But wait... what's this?
After a few seconds it fades away, leaving a solid wall again.
Hmm, looks like another puzzle. The opening only appears for a very short moment, its location changing clockwise, and we must figure out where it's going to appear the next moment in order to enter it. Otherwise, this happens:
After a few seconds it fades away, leaving a solid wall again.
But we're smarter than that, aren't we?
Multiple tunnel entrances lie to the east, southeast, south, southwest, and west.
You see a hexagonal metal box here.
[Your score has just gone up by 15.]
> examine box
In the center of the ovoid room where all of the ribs converge is a strange hexagonal metal box. It is about thirty centimeters across and twenty centimeters deep, and seems to be made of solid Heechee metal.
Just what we need, I think.
> take box
And then we exit the ovoid room.
You enter one of the tunnel entrances and walk through a narrow, claustrophobic passageway until you reach a blank metal wall. You wait a few moments until a portal appears, then launch yourself through the irregular opening into the chamber beyond. You land on your shoulder, roll once, and then stand up.
Extreme!
But anyway. It's high time we went back to the ship.
We press "Orbit", and then "Return".
Hey, $25000! We sure could use that.
But more importantly, we now have a good reason to call Terri.
Next time: green badges -- and more!
Hellraiser
Arcane
METAL BOXES FOR THE METAL BOX GOD!
Johannes
Arcane
I might remember wrong but I think you can leave the ship without putting on the suit and die.
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