Anyone else currently stuck somewhere?

[Shattered]

#3407

I guess I’d start a topic share commiseration with those of us in the club that didn’t sit down and beat it in one sitting or two (I’m looking at you firefyte).

I thought it would be good to start the post with what section/part you’re on to avoid spoilers if you want to skip the post.

Please no giving solutions, walkthroughs exist online if you just give up and want to know exactly what to do. If you know the solution and want to give input, perhaps some encouragement or very high level guidance is appropriate.

So I’m currently stuck in part 2. I’ve solved the first 3 planets.

I have the lens and its cover, but need an actuator cell. I’m pretty sure its in Becker’s ship’s wreckage. There’s an actuator chassis there but it says I need a tool to remove the grommets in order to open it. I’ve tried the calipers on the grommets, the maintenance key, axe, pick-axe, and basically everything else in my inventory. I went back to Heechee station to try to pilfer more tools from the garden worker, but the pliers and wrench just disappear after I put them in the tray. I also wondered if the tuning fork in the museum is needed to remove the grommets, but I can’t take them anywhere without getting arrested.

I also have spent hours in the 2nd virtual reality puzzle wondering if solving that is somehow needed for the actuator cell. I think I have to set Sigfreid up to give me contradicting orders, but haven’t figured it out. I’m really hoping I don’t need to solve that for part 2 and I’ll get another clue in part 3 because I’m completely lost there.

Thanks for reading my post. Sometimes it helps me think through a puzzle by writing down my thought process. I hope I’ll see other posts and we can encourage each other to finish this pretty cool hidden gem from the 90’s.

[rnlf]

#3411

Hehe, once you find the solution to that one you’ll facepalm hard, I think.

I wasn’t really stuck in the first game for more than an hour or so. But yesterday I spent three hours at the end of part 3 of Gateway 2. In the end I had Tijn read the hintbook questions to me, looking for one that might help me get unstuck. But then the question itself gave me an epiphany. So I don’t know if that counts as a hint or what.

FireFyte just tears through those games like it was nothing. It’s disheartening, really.

[firefyte]

#3412

Most of the game(s!) is self-consistent regarding puzzles, not really requiring that you have anything other than what you started with going there, or whatever you find there.

[Shattered]

#3437

rnlf, I think you’re right about the facepalm. At least it wasn’t a gopheria wrench (Monkey Island reference). Anyways, made it to part 3 and well on my way. Haven’t solved the 2nd VR puzzle, but maybe I won’t need to.

[Shattered]

#3444

Stuck again…

Part 3

At the hydra lair. I’ve figured out you should take the sack thrown at you across the chasm. Then I filled it with the dust spewn in the mirror room. But I have no idea what to do with these ashes. I would have thought throwing them at the hydra would be the solution since the dust makes you attack yourself. Instead they hydras immediately attack me. I don’t follow the game’s logic there, but I think I’m onto something. I also notice you can scoop ashes into the sack. I think this will be useful to see the invisible demon in the cave room, but how I have no clue. There’s a graphical change for setting the sack on the stump so there has to be a reason for that, right?

[firefyte]

#3445

This bit was a tad confusing, but there are queues as to what to do, you’re having the correct hunch with the sack, but the sack itself is not enough…

[Shattered]

#3448

Thanks firefyte. I’ve made a little progress.

There’s also a graphic for putting the net on the stump so I think that will play a part too. And you can put ashes from the Hydra’s lair on the stump. That will indicate when there’s footprints on the stump. When this happens, I feel like I’ve tried everything! Throwing the net on the stump says I hit nothing because I couldn’t see the demon (hello? footprints?!?). Swinging the sword toward the footprints was useless. Can’t put the sack over the invisible monster either. If you examine your coveralls after an attack, blood becomes an available item to use, but you can’t put it on the stump. I thought that would make the ashes stick to the demon… There seems to be no other sticky material other than the blood though, so not sure if that’s what the game is going for.

Again, I’m really impressed you guys breezed through this game. I feel like I get to these parts and spin my wheels for a week or so until I notice one minor detail I forgot (like the crib in Becker’s wreckage).

[Tijn]

#3449

I don’t remember using the blood, I don’t think it’s necessary.

You’re definitely thinking in the right direction with the stump, the sack, the ash and the net. It’s mostly a matter of figuring out the right order to make it all work 🙂

[rnlf]

#3456

“Breezed through”. I think I spent like 20h on it. firefyte did it in like 12 minutes or so.

[Tijn]

#3457

Yeah, it took me several days to get through this game, and that’s despite having played (and finished!) it before.

[firefyte]

#3459

Hey, I spent a good 10-20h. I did go back and do a quick-clear of gateway 2 in about 1h. The passcodes change, so it’s worth remembering those the first time you’re told.

[Shattered]

#3462

Just curious… Is the 2nd VR puzzle solvable or did I spend hours there for nothing?

[rnlf]

#3463

I don’t think I solved anything there. I thought it was just for entertainment. Could be wrong though and that’s where my missing 15 points went.

[firefyte]

#3464

I tried various things, but I’m pretty sure there’s nothing in the 2nd puzzle.

[Tijn]

#3465

Same. I dabbled around for a few minutes, but it seemed to lead to nothing.

I have a hard time believing it can’t be broken though. Isn’t that the whole point of these VRs?