Curses completed!
TEAddition
particularly with the two puzzles which really had me stuck (waking up and
using the "magic word"). I managed to make it through the remainder of
the game with the space between my two ears, but I don't think that I EVER
would have woken up if you all hadn't informed me of the trick.
Among those of you who have finished Curses, would you define the dream
escape method as an arbitrary puzzle? Everything else comes to a logical
conclusion as long as you keep in mind that word order and verb choice are
often limited (but Graham, seriously -- couldn't we have at least ROLLED
the die?). Did this one puzzle annoy any of you as much as it did me?
All in all, though, one of the best IF games I've had the pleasure of
playing. If Graham should tackle another full-length adventure, I hope to
be one of the first to play it, rather than one of the last.
-TEA-
P.S. I have been careful to keep this message free of spoilers, but I
would enjoy a thorough discussion of the game, its pros and cons and all
that jazz, so if we can begin a thread here, spoilers will follow.
Felix Lee
TEAddition:
>Among those of you who have finished Curses, would you define the dream
>escape method as an arbitrary puzzle?
Not sure. Probably not. It was the first thing I thought of doing in
a couple other situations. The main reason I didn't think of it
immediately for the dream is, it didn't work any other time. So
perhaps this uniqueness makes it a little unfair.
There were a couple things that did annoy me. Mostly, phrasing
problems. Phrasing the magic word was the worst. Talking to the
robot mouse was another.
There were a couple puzzles I would never have solved on my own:
- dealing with the corn crake. That seemed pretty arbitrary.
- the revolving door. I think I assumed it was a glass door, so its
purpose never occurred to me.
- figuring out what to do with Austin. Despite Austin's description,
he was never annoying. He was actually pretty fun to have around, so
I was never motivated enough to do anything serious to him. And
besides the problem of actually pushing Austin the right way, I didn't
connect him with his purpose. I think the Angel has a hint about it,
but I could never get anything useful from the Angel, so I gave up
asking after a while.
- identifying the rods. I knew what the rods did by their effects, so
I kept trying to find some way of adding my own mark to the rods. For
a while, I kept a few of them identified by putting them in different
containers. (amazing what the medicine bottle will hold :)
- the Sosostris door. If I had seen someone else walking through that
door, I would have figured it out, but I had no idea how to proceed,
and I didn't know that I could have walked in with what I had.
There were a couple descriptions that confused me enough that I
completely overlooked sections of the game. It was mostly ups and
downs that I had problems with, like, down from the patio, up from the
cupboard, up the mast.
I missed the mast because the first thing I tried was "climb mast" and
it said "That's not something you need to refer to in the course of
the game." So I ignored it.
And I have one complaint about the endgame: it was too easy :). But
it does tie things up nicely.
>All in all, though, one of the best IF games I've had the pleasure of
>playing. If Graham should tackle another full-length adventure, I hope to
>be one of the first to play it, rather than one of the last.
Agreed.
Favorite puzzles: decoding the languages, opening the fire escape, the
sphinx riddle, the daisies. The projector is a neat idea. The
History is a nice bit of background. The Dead End is cute. The
wrench made me laugh.
Urm. I've been meaning to send a list of comments to Graham Nelson
(hi Graham), but never got around to it. Consider this my comments.
--
TEAddition
the challenges which led up to it, I couldn't believe how simple it was to
complete once the rod puzzle was finished.
Incidentally, if you have checked out Curses with ITF you find two rooms
called (I think) "Graham's Hideaway" and "Graham's Extension." Anyone
know of a way to reach these rooms?
-TEA-
Matthew Russotto
Spoilers
Tn> Just a quick thanks to everyone who helped me out with Curses,
Tn> particularly with the two puzzles which really had me stuck (waking up
Tn> and using the "magic word").
Which one? anoppe?
Tn> I managed to make it through the
Tn> remainder of the game with the space between my two ears, but I don't
Tn> think that I EVER would have woken up if you all hadn't informed me of
Tn> the trick.
Tn> Among those of you who have finished Curses, would you define the
Tn> dream escape method as an arbitrary puzzle? Everything else comes to
Tn> a logical conclusion as long as you keep in mind that word order and
Tn> verb choice are often limited (but Graham, seriously -- couldn't we
Tn> have at least ROLLED the die?)
ARGGHH-- I even tried CASTING the die (alea iacta est, right?).
Tn> That drove me crazy. Did this one puzzle annoy any of you
Tn> as much as it did me?
No-- the big clue for me was the "Dreaming?" in the status bar.
I found the means for scaring the bird to be MUCH more annoying.
Matthew Russotto
FL> mild spoilers
FL> There were a couple things that did annoy me. Mostly, phrasing
FL> problems. Phrasing the magic word was the worst. Talking to the
FL> robot mouse was another.
The demon had the answer to the mouse problem.
FL> There were a couple puzzles I would never have solved on my own:
FL>
FL> - dealing with the corn crake. That seemed pretty arbitrary.
Yes, though the angel had a clue, and the place you found the necessary item
did also.
FL> - the revolving door. I think I assumed it was a glass door, so its
FL> purpose never occurred to me.
Me, too-- I solved the game without it. You can get through security if you
have nothing else with you, and you can leave and re-enter with the magic word.
I think this was a deliberate alternative solution.
FL> - figuring out what to do with Austin. Despite Austin's description,
FL> he was never annoying. He was actually pretty fun to have around, so
FL> I was never motivated enough to do anything serious to him. And
FL> besides the problem of actually pushing Austin the right way, I didn't
FL> connect him with his purpose. I think the Angel has a hint about it,
FL> but I could never get anything useful from the Angel, so I gave up
FL> asking after a while.
The Angel and Devil have lots of useful stuff. But the most useful hint you
get about Austin is if you watch him interact with Jemima.
FL> - identifying the rods. I knew what the rods did by their effects, so
FL> I kept trying to find some way of adding my own mark to the rods. For
FL> a while, I kept a few of them identified by putting them in different
FL> containers. (amazing what the medicine bottle will hold :)
Yeah, that was annoying to me, especially since I had finished V9 curses. The
clue for me was the hieroglyphic inscription.
FL> - the Sosostris door. If I had seen someone else walking through that
FL> door, I would have figured it out, but I had no idea how to proceed,
FL> and I didn't know that I could have walked in with what I had.
The only clue here seems to be the picture in the tomb-- not much to go on, I
agree.
Matthew Russotto
Tn> I do have to agree with your comment on the endgame -- considering all
Tn> of the challenges which led up to it, I couldn't believe how simple it
Tn> was to complete once the rod puzzle was finished.
Tn> Incidentally, if you have checked out Curses with ITF you find two
Tn> rooms called (I think) "Graham's Hideaway" and "Graham's Extension."
Tn> Anyone know of a way to reach these rooms?
Graham's Lair, Graham's Extension, and Extension 3, I think. They can be
reached from each other, but not from anywhere else in the game, as far as I
can tell. (I got there by running the interpreter with the debugger). There's
also lots of words like 'xcheat' and 'xallow' in there, which I haven't gotten
to work. The three rooms are most likely to allow the author to move around
the game with ease, and presumably he has a way of getting to the rooms without
hacking the interpreter. I need a Z-code-level debugger...
Conrad Wong
TEAddition <teadd...@aol.com> wrote:
>P.S. I have been careful to keep this message free of spoilers, but I
>would enjoy a thorough discussion of the game, its pros and cons and all
>that jazz, so if we can begin a thread here, spoilers will follow.
Hah... Finished the game with 559 points! ('gryn) I've seen someone
post a full score for 554 points, but there is a way to get five *more*
points... (so much for the game complaining that it was going to mess
up the calculations in giving you a bonus)
HOWEVER! Among 'puzzles unnecessary to finishing the game', I saw
one interesting item...
Just-in-case spoiler (better safe than sorry)
Has anyone out there succeeded in bringing that ugly animal to life?
I've tried using the High Rod of Life... No go. (pyffles)
And is there any purpose to using the skiff?
-- Lynx
--
__ ___ ___ _/' Conrad "Lynx" Wong
/ \ _/ \----' \-' o`-g 28368 Christopher's Lane
| | / > __/_ / __/_`, _| Los Altos Hills, CA 94022
\__/ \____\`--\____\ ;/' ly...@netcom.com
"If you're happy and you know it, pet the cat!
If you're happy and you know it, then your cat will really show it..."
-- Brenda (*purr purr*)
CatCode: LY Go B Y++ L++ C++++ T++ A-- H+ S++ V+ F- Q+ PP+ B PA+ PL+++
(see rec.pets.cats for code explanation or E-mail me and ask)
Felix Lee
>Has anyone out there succeeded in bringing that ugly animal to life?
Try looking at it?
>And is there any purpose to using the skiff?
Just another way out of Alexandria, I think.
--
Mathematical Institute, (0865) 2-73525
Yes, someone does.
Graham
TEAddition
(Mathematical Institute, (0865) 2-73525) writes:
>> Incidentally, if you have checked out Curses with ITF you find two
>> rooms called (I think) "Graham's Hideaway" and "Graham's Extension."
>> Anyone know of a way to reach these rooms?
>Yes, someone does.
> Graham
Gotta love that British sense of humor. So, Graham doesn't want to share
his secret (insert various censored curses here).
Anything interesting in there? Can they be reached without going into the
debugger?
-TEA-
P.S. Perhaps you should reflect on your problem with that ugly little
animal
P.P.S. I managed to pick up the 554 points, but I'm curious where the
559-pointer above picked up those extra 5.
ct
Matthew Russotto <matthew....@his.com> wrote:
>On 9/26/94, Felix Lee distorted All's sage advice about Curses completed!:
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> FL> purpose never occurred to me.
Me too, but then the demon had the answer. It was quite a nice puzzle, but
it would have helped if it had been clear that the revolving door wasn't!
>The Angel and Devil have lots of useful stuff. But the most useful hint you
>get about Austin is if you watch him interact with Jemima.
Yes, of course it helps if your memory's working. I spent ages screaming
my head off at Austin when I figured out I wanted him in Alexandria. Took
me hours before I checked back with dear Aunt Jemima.
> FL> - identifying the rods. I knew what the rods did by their effects, so
> FL> I kept trying to find some way of adding my own mark to the rods. For
> FL> a while, I kept a few of them identified by putting them in different
> FL> containers. (amazing what the medicine bottle will hold :)
I just didn't 'rod' them until I needed them and then dumped them until
later. You didn't need to re-use many rods (that ship was much handier
than its timber prop!) I eventually figured out what to do with them only
because I couldn't get into *this* particular coffin, when I could get
into almost everything else designed for lying down in.
ct