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Deathwind posted:Do you plan on covering the walking dead situations or the copy protection? I ask was we have just passed the first cases both could come up. The game has a lot of dead man walking scenarios. While it's true we just passed one in the temple, it's really difficult to trigger. That would mean that someone deliberately ignored the two extremely yellow items, one of which repeatedly glints, that stick out against the purple and red background. There'll be a proper walking dead scenario in either Wednesday's or Friday's update, if I'm not mistaken. In fact, there will be quite a few in the coming updates. The part of the game we're coming into is lousy with them. As far as copy protection goes, until tonight I legitimately had no idea the game even had any. I went and looked it up, and it seems to have been taken out of the CD version. I've never played, or owned, the disk version of the game, so I'm afraid I can't be any help as far as showing it off. King's Quest IV also had copy protection, but it was stripped out of the Steam version of the collection that I own. 
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Sep 19, 2017 06:20
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 Hello everyone and welcome back to King's Quest V. While it's good to know that we have a trapped item, it doesn't really help us a lot for now. So let's just move on.  east x7We're done with the desert, and walking east 7 times puts us in the scrublands right next to the fortune teller.  For reference, here's the map of the desert I was using to give directions. You might be wondering about that well and the tree at the bottom. It's just another "oasis" that you can drink water from. There's nothing to do there, and the item it looks like you can use, the bucket, is just used to fetch water from the well.  Whoever was in charge of background art really went above and beyond. The mingling of the desert, grassy plains, and the forest looks really nice and has the feel of something you might see in California.  And we're back here finally. That last update sure was nice, not having Cedric around. To be honest, I'm really surprised we found him hanging out at the camp. I guess he spends his free time belittling them.  : Well, there you are! I was just starting to get concerned! : Don't worry about me, Cedric. I'm used to this kind of thing.Now that we can afford it, let's get our fortunes told.   : It costs vone GOLD coin to see Madame Mushka, not vone SILVER coin.There's a trio of golden items in the game. We have the first one right now, the gold coin. There's also the willow's golden heart, and a golden needle that we'll find in a later update. Any of these three golden items can more or less be exchanged for each other in the trading sequence. However, doing so creates a dead man walking scenario. We can't get the golden heart without first talking to Madame Mushka, but we could use the golden needle to "solve" this "puzzle". However, this would gently caress us over in about 20-30 gameplay minutes when we need to leave Serenia. We could also use our golden coin to buy something in the bakehouse, buy the cloak from the tailor, or buy the sled from the toy maker. All three of these actions would reward us points, but also create dead man walking scenarios that leave you playing for, depending on how well you know the game, between 20 minutes and more than an hour. Dead man walking is, at least in these specific cases, literal. loving up will eventually lead to Graham's death an indeterminate amount of time later. Take the temple in the last update. You've got an incredibly strict time limit when you're inside, so you have to move very fast. If you don't see the single pixel that constitutes the gold coin, then you won't realize you hosed something up for a very long time, potentially more than an hour if you do everything else right. At that point, you'd be stuck unable to progress and with no idea where you went wrong, as you'd have played at least half of the game since your original mistake. That's assuming you did everything else right and somehow avoided the 10,000 other DMW scenarios that plague this game. The point I've been (badly) trying to make is that there's a lot of dead man scenarios in this game, especially in this stretch. I'll try to call out the most egregious ones, but please understand that there's simply no way I'll be able to list off every permutation of misusing an item. All the poo poo we've already picked up have DMW scenarios attached as well, I'm sure. Anyway, somewhere back there we tried to give this fine fellow the wrong coin. So let's actually get back on track.  : You may see Madame Mushka now. King's Quest V - A Gypsy's Tale Click this for video Today's update is all about meeting Madame Mushka. She's going to be giving us some backstory.    : So, you are here to see Madame Mushka, no? Vell, come closer. Sit down. : I vill tell you your fortune. Already I can tell that you are on a quest of great urgency. Ve vill see vat we can find out for you. Look, King Graham. Look into the crystal ball.  : Look, Manannan, look what I have for you. Take a good look at what you did to my brother, Alexander. Because of you he's doomed to spend the rest of his days as a cat and there's nothing I can do about it. But YOU can do something about it. Since you're the one that did this to him you're the only one who can turn him back again... back to the wizard Manannan.: Alexander!  : I don't know how, Mordack! I'm not a wizard. I just happened to stumble across some magic spells and accidentally turned him into a cat.: I certainly didn't poison some porridge with a cookie made of magical dough infused with fur from his awful pet.: I'm familiar with the spell!: (under his breath) Obviously not...: I didn't mean it! Please believe me, Mordack. I don't know HOW to turn him back into a wizard!: You're holding out on me, little man! You're taking advantage of my good nature... but not for long! If I don't get a change of tune from you soon, I'll feed your family to the cat... starting with your dear mother! *cackles* Remember what I said. I'll only give you a little more time to decide before your family becomes cat food!You know, Alexander could handle this if Mordack just let him return to normal size. All he needs is a little mandrake root powder, some fur from Malatora, some fish oil, and the magic wand I'm sure he's got in his bedroom in the castle. The whole thing could be taken care of in no time at all. : That is all. But I see that your mission is very dangerous indeed. I will give you something to help you. Here... wear this. It is a magic amulet. It vill protect you against all but the most powerful magic. Good luck, King Graham. Be careful; that Mordack is a bad one!: Thank you, Madame Mushka : Madame Mushka is tired. No more for today.That's actually a pretty good point to cut off. I know this is a super short update, even by standards for this LP series, but doing anything else after that plot dump feels weird. So... NEXT TIME: The dark forest! List of Points +5 - Madame Mushka's reading Total 41/260
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Sep 20, 2017 21:49
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Snake Maze posted:Wait, really? It's been ages since I played KQV, but I could have sworn that the gold coin and needle were interchangeable - you use one of them to talk to Madame Mushka, and one to get the cloak. Am I going crazy? Is that a false memory? That may very well be the lone exception to the rule. I can't think of any other cases where you could swap two items in the trading sequence like that.
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Sep 20, 2017 22:39
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 Hello everyone and welcome back to King's Quest V. We've got quite a bit to do today, so let's not waste any time.  : The amulet is attached to a soft leather thong.We've already seen what happens when you get caught in the forest without this item. So let's take some precautions against the witch's magic.  : The magic amulet begins to glow softly as Graham slips it over his head. He then carefully tucks the amulet into the front of his tunic, hiding it from sight.And now we're safe from all but the most powerful of magic. Handy! north: Ooooh, no! Ooooh I'M not going in there! Can't you read the sign?: Come on, Cedric. There might be something important in here.: Goooo if you want to. I'll wait HERE! east If you're not protected, the witch will descend upon you immediately. But here we have to wander around a bit before she deigns to show up. north This looks important. south : To Graham's great relief, it appears that the witch's magic has been stopped by the amulet he is wearing, just as Madame Mushka claimed it would. After ripping at her hair and screaming at us, she just stares holes in us until we talk to her.  : What are you doing in my forest, young man?! *chuckles* Don't you know you're trespassing? *chuckles*: Oh, I didn't know this was a PRIVATE forest. Do you OWN it?: Of COURSE I own it! *chuckles* It's mine! And what did you do to my magic?! *cackle*: I don't think you need to know. Now tell me something... how do I leave this terrible forest?: I'LL never tell. *chuckles* I'm afraid you're stuck, dearie. *chuckles* Now you're my prisoner.: We'll see about that!: Yes, won't we. *cackles*This witch seriously can't go two sentences without cackling or chuckling like an imbecile. Also now everywhere we walk is interrupted by the witch disappearing and reappearing before we get control. It's rather annoying. west The entrance screen of the forst also no longer exists. So it's just a giant loop of these four screens, plus two other optional ones. The creepy tower in the distance is the last screen, and it's where the witch lives. If we walk to the west from here, there's another two screens that offer a more roundabout way to get to the witch's hut. There's also at least two ways to die in here, but for all my trying, I was unable to trigger it. Do you see those freaky maw plants in the foreground? It's somehow possible to irritate them, causing them to grab Graham with their roots and chew on him for a while. The previous screen where we talked to the witch, it's also apparently possible to have a giant spider just drop on your head completely randomly. Again, for all my trying, I was unable to trigger that death either. If you're interested in seeing either, you can click here. Nidoking offers an explanation: Nidoking posted:Triggering the random deaths in the forest requires being trapped there. If you enter without the honeycomb or throw all three emeralds without using it, then walk around after dispatching the witch, one of them will trigger. (It was always the plant for me.) You might also hit one if you enter while wearing the amulet but not carrying the bottle. (That might be what triggers the spider.) As far as I know, you'll never see either if you have a means to escape. That would be cave troll levels of unfair. west north east That's all the major screens of the forest. So let's just take care of this witch so I can have some peace of mind. This is what I would generally consider to be the first real bullshit puzzle of the game. So far you could more or less intuit what to do by context clues. This puzzle relies on metagame knowledge. The only things in our inventory are the silver coin, the brass bottle, the old boot, the honeycomb, the magic amulet, and Crispin's wand. One of these items, unlike the others is a dedicated suicide button. Yeah, the game is relying on the fact that you almost certainly rubbed the bottle as soon as you got it, and therefore know that it's a trapped item. This puzzle, pardon the pun, rubs me the wrong way. There's no internal logic that causes this to make any amount of sense. Other King's Quest games would be done with just this one instance of moon logic, but 5 had to be an overachiever. This isn't even the only case of moon logic in this update.  : What's this?   : Ah! Freedom at last! Now YOU spend the next five hundred years in a bottle! : Good! That old witch won't be seen here for a LONG time! But now, how to get out of this dreadful forest?Now that we can walk around in peace, let's start by raiding the witch's house. north There's 3 things to find in this screen. Try to guess where. By the way, the hint for one of the items is active in this particular screengrab.  lamp: An interesting incense burner hangs from a protruding tree branch. Occasionally, from within it, a tiny glint winks. lamp : What's this? Why, it's a little key. : It is a tiny brass key. drawer: Graham spies a crude drawer built into the trunk of a tree which is poking awkwardly through the house. drawer: A small pouch is tucked away in the drawer. pouch: Graham reaches into the drawer and removes the leather pouch. : The small leather pouch is drawn tightly closed. : Upon opening the leather pouch, Graham discovers three sparkling emeralds : The trio of sparkling emeralds dazzle the eyes. chest: A small, intricate spinning wheel is put away in the trunk. spinning wheel: Reaching a hand into the trunk, Graham retrieves the small spinning wheel. : This appears to be a small, intricately-constructed spinning wheel.And that's all we'll ever need to come in here for.  east door: A crude little door built into the trunk of a large, twisted tree catches Graham's attention. door: Graham tugs firmly at the door in the tree but finds it securely locked. door: Graham finds that the little key fits perfectly in this lock. Graham is charmed to find a little golden heart inside the door of the twisted old tree. heart: Reaching a hand into the open door of the tree, Graham extracts the little golden heart. : The small heart is made of pure gold. All the way back over to this screen with those freaky maws. Now there are eyes staring at us. eyes: Peering curiously at him through the heavy foliage of the dark forest, Graham notices several pairs of bright, blinking eyes. eyes: Hello? Who's there? I say... who's there? Please help me. Please... oh, never mind.Now time for more dumb poo poo. When you have small beady eyes staring at you from the shadows, the proper thing is to bribe them, right? ground groundWell, each time we throw an emerald down, the little elf runs out and nabs it. We also lose an emerald each time we do it. Yes, this is a DMW waiting to happen. Throw that last emerald down, and you're hosed. So naturally we need to...  ground : Squeezing the honeycomb as hard as he can, Graham causes the honey to drip out of it onto the ground creating a little "puddle" of honey at his feet. Now all that's left of the honeycomb is a piece of beeswax, which Graham pockets.Yes, this means that there's an EXTENDED DMW layered here as well. If you don't find the fish in the barrel, then you'll never get out of the dark forest. Are you starting to see why I call these things trading sequences? By the way, that fish in the barrel is also part of yet another layered DMW, the one I discussed last time. The one that terminates at the end of the second part of the game, more than an hour from now. honey There is absolutely no reason to believe that this should work. I can somewhat see the logic, but honey isn't superglue. Even for gnome sized elves. King's Quest V - The Elves  : Please! Let me go... I beg of you!: Why should I do that? What will you do for me?: I'll show you the way out of the forest... if you let me go!: How do I know I can trust you?: I give you my word. An elf NEVER breaks his word!: Well... it's against my better judgement, but... okay. : Move over, Rocky. You're in our way! west : Follow me! In here!Going to cut the update there. We'll pick up next time immediately with a cutscene. NEXT TIME: The goddamned rat List of Points +2 - Actually entering the dark forest +4 - Gave the witch a genie +2 - Saw a single pixel key +2 - Leather pouch +2 - A town with money +3 - Unlocked the tree +2 - Heart taker +4 - Honey trap +6 - Elf kidnapper Total 68/260 DoubleNegative fucked around with this message at 03:12 on Sep 23, 2017 |
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Sep 22, 2017 23:47
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Nidoking posted:You've got the same GIF for the first and second emeralds. Not sure whether that's what you intended or not, which is saying something. Yep, I intended the same gif for both. The only change between the two would just be the cursor and the elfgnome being a tiny bit closer. I also edited your explanation into the update. That makes a lot more sense now, and is a weird form of kindness from Sierra.
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Sep 23, 2017 03:15
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Snorb posted:There's a lot of reasons why King's Quest VI is the best in the series. The writing is, of course, the main reason (I can still call off the spellcasting chants from memory, 20+ years later) but the other biggest reason is using the spoilered inventory item when you're supposed to use it. I'm very much looking forward to being able to link the associated piece of music. That section is probably the high point of the entire drat series, to be honest. If you've played and beaten KQ6, it's this music.
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Sep 23, 2017 23:51
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Hello everyone, and welcome back to King's Quest V. Today is gonna be a fun update, but first we have to sit through a cutscene. So let's get that out of the way quickly... westClick this for video  I like the background detail in this screen and its brother we'll see in a moment.  : Hey! Over here! I've got something for you. : I never take anything without giving in return. For your generosity in giving me those exquisite emeralds I give you my finest pair of shoes. May they help you in your quest.This elf is all too happy to take without giving in return. Lying prick.   : Follow that passage over there. It's the way out of the Dark Forest.: Thank you very much for all your help. And I'm sure I will be able to find a use for these fine shoes. Seriously. I love the detail in these scenes. Seeing the little underground burrows of whatever creatures live there, and scattered fossils is pretty cool.  We got everything in the dark forest, but if you need to go back in, the passage we just left by will be your way out. : Ohhhh, I'm glad to see you're okay! I was beginning to worry!: You were right to not want to venture in that dark forest, Cedric. I thought I'd NEVER get out of there alive!Well, we now have the keys to solve several long standing puzzles. So let's tick some off our list, eh?  : he lump of beeswax has become soft and sticky from the warmth of Graham's body. : Even though these are a very fine pair of shoes, Graham finds them too small for his own feet. south x2First off, there's a shop we haven't yet visited.  bakeshop door: Ooooh I'll wait for you here, Graham.: Good idea, Cedric. Keep the motor running. We might need to make a quick getaway.: Graham rolls his eyes and walks in the bakeshop. Sometimes the limited color palette doesn't work out quite as well as they would have hoped. The baker and the woman should have been given different colors to wear. Otherwise you wind up with this situation where it looks like this huge, burly guy has a tiny, petite, dainty waist and a dress.  : And how is your poor dear mother doing, William? : She hasn't been doing too well lately, but my brother and I keep an eye on her. Thanks for asking, Amanda. : Austin, don't touch that pie! The pies look delicious. I think I'll take one.: Yes, they were just made fresh this morning. Here you go.: Yes, this will be a fine dessert for our dinner tonight. Let's go home, Austin. You can actually talk to both Amanda and Austin here. They walk slow enough that the game seems to want you to.  : What's your name?: My name's Austin. I'm here with my mama. We're buying a pie.: That's nice.Graham has the best dismissive tone here. With two words he communicates exactly how little he cares about what the pair are doing. : Good day, madam. That pie looks awfully good.: Ah, yes. My family will enjoy it, I'm sure. : Here's the last of the pies. : Welcome to our bakehouse, traveler! Of course ALL of our wares are wonderful, but today we've got a special on custard pies. Just one silver coin each. But take your time... let me know when you're ready. : Everything looks so delicious. It's hard to decide what to buy.: *laughs* Everybody has that problem! But what a problem to have!: Those custard pies look awfully good.: Yes. Made from a recipe handed down from our dear Mama... and her Mama before her.: Hmmmmm. It's still hard to decide, though.: Well, take your time. There's no hurry. : The baker's brother is too busy to chat with Graham. cat: The cat doesn't appear to like Graham, much less answer him.There are dozens of interactions in here, and most of them are some variant of "the pies look amazing I bet they're mouth watering don't they look good?" This is also another place where you can gently caress up yet again. William said one silver coin each, but he's more than happy to take gold in exchange for a pie, and not give us change. A gold coin, a golden needle, or a golden heart doesn't matter to him. Let's just buy our pie and get outta here before I start another giant rant about dead man walking scenarios. pie: Would you like a pie, sir?: Well... yes. Actually, I would.: That'll be one silver coin, then.: Let me see if I have one...: Well, let me know if you do. : Sir, I would purchase one of your custard pies.: The pies cost one silver coin each.: I've got it right here. Here you go.: I hope you enjoy your custard pie.: Oh, I'm sure I will! : Mmmmmm. The custard pie looks delicious! out of shopNow to save for no reason whatsoever. eastOn the border of the screen, Graham stops... : Suddenly, frantic squeakings alert Graham to a mangy cat chasing a terrified rat. Already pictured: the solution.  catWe have an incredibly short amount of time to do this. Failing to rescue this rat will result in yet another DMW. This is probably the single most infamous puzzle in King's Quest 5. Like with the first game, ask any random person what they know about this game and you'll get this as an answer.   : Oh, thank you, thank you, good sir! You saved my life! My children and I will never forget your kindness. Maybe someday I will be able to return the favor. Oh! I hear my children calling! Good-bye... until we meet again. Now with the rat rescued, let's go cash in that favor.  Fast forwarding...   : Struggle as he might, Graham cannot escape his bonds. The rat chews through the ropes.  : I told you I'd repay your kindness when you saved me from that horrible cat. Good luck, friend. rope: Graham stoops down and picks up the sturdy rope from the stone floor. door: A rusty padlock on the door keeps Graham locked in.... ... ... MOTHERF--  : Forget something, did you?NEXT TIME: We get to redo all of that. Because I saved over my savegame. Like a dingus. List of Points +4 - Got boots +2 - Bought pie +4 - Saved rat Total 78/160 Register of Deaths Permanently stuck
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Sep 26, 2017 03:00
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EorayMel posted:Anytime? The latter. It's like the bear or dog in that regard. You have to have the item to solve the puzzle before it will even show up.
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Sep 26, 2017 05:05
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I hosed up my toe something bad last week, and over the counter painkillers and rest aren't working anymore. Right now I can't even concentrate enough to type coherent sentences. So until I can either get it looked at professionally, or until I can get something to dull the pain, I'm going to have to put this on hiatus.
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Sep 28, 2017 09:07
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 Hello everyone and welcome back to King's Quest V. This update is gonna be the last stuff we'll do in Serenia. After today, we'll be in the second half of the game! Just hold on a second and listen to some tunes while I fast forward. Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - Spanish Flea   Alright, that's enough fast forwarding. We're going to go about things entirely differently this time. Last time was a result of me trying to be clever and failing miserably. west  : My heart! You found it! King's Quest V - The Weeping Willow (Revisited)  : I don't need this old thing anymore! Look at me! I'm a princess again! : Herbert! : Alicia!  : Where have you been all this time, my love?: Oh, darling. Just take me home. I'll tell you on the way. harp: Now why would she toss aside this beautiful harp? Well if she doesn't want it, I'll take it. : It is a small harp of beautifully carved mahogany.Yadda yadda, DMW, terminates an hour from now. You get the picture by now without me harping on it. south The puzzle here requires some slight meta-series knowledge. Alternatively, it's something you try because you've run out of good ideas and need that marionette.  King's Quest V - The Gnomes Pt 2 : Where did you get this? I thought I had lost it.: Oh, is it yours? I found it in the old witch's house in the Dark Forest.: So that's where it got to... the old hag took it, eh? You know, this ain't no ordinary spinning wheel.: It's not? What's so special about it?: Why, this spinning wheel can spin straw into gold, that's what! Except... you gotta know how to use it. I doubt even the witch could figure that out. Thank you for bringin' it back to me.: Wait! Not so fast! How about that marionette? Don't you think the price of the spinning wheel is worth at least twice that of the puppet? I'd love to have it.: Yeah... I guess so. Boy! Give that there marionette to the man here. I'll make ya a new one. Come on, boy. Let's go gather up some wood for a new puppet. : As the gnome and his grandson walk off, Graham raises his hand in farewell and calls out.: Goodbye, Ifnkovhgroghprm!: The gnome flinches at hearing Graham say his name yet again but keeps on walking, trying to pretend he didn't hear it. : The craftsmanship of the marionette is superb. west, north : A tambourine lies on the ground near the abandoned gypsy encampment.: Ohhhh I thought they'd NEVER leave, Graham. You have to watch out for their...: Cedric what the hell is wrong with you? Shut up.: But...: No. You don't get to talk anymore. Not until you stop being so hateful. tambourine: Not seeing the tambourine's owner, Graham bends down and rescues it from the ground.The tambourine, believe it or not, is actually the key to escaping from Serenia. Now that we have it, we're free to leave at any time.  : It is an ordinary tambourine. south x2, eastBack, again, to the inn.  I've typed like four different ways to start this sentence and just deleted them. There's nothing I can say that will serve as adequate introduction to this. So just enjoy, I guess? haystack : Graham watches with surprise as a contingent of ants marches into the haystack and begins to swarm through it.This is not my video, but click here to watch (and listen) to this.  : (singing) We're the ants of our King Antony, we're coming to help King Graham! : I'm glad to see there was a way that we could be of help to you. Look here... we found a golden needle in the haystack. I'd like to present it to you. Perhaps you can find a use for it.: Why, thank you, King Antony. I'm honored.: Good luck in your travels, King Graham. And be careful. : This is a large golden needle.We've now got all the major quest items for the first part of the game. So now we just need to engage in the trading game some. So to that end... eastSaving a rat for later. east x2 Back in town. Let's just start on the left again and work our way across town.  First, the tailor's shop. The game described this fellow as an "aristocratic" man, so he probably owns a golden needle. Let's take a chance...  : My golden needle! Wherever did you find it?: It was found in a haystack by the inn.: By the inn? Oh, yes. I remember visiting there not long ago. Vulgar man, that innkeeper! He has no scruples at all.: Well, I'm glad to see you've got your golden needle back. I wonder... could you possibly see fit to give me that wonderful cloak in exchange for it?: The cloak? Well, why not. It's yours...for the price of a golden needle!: Thank you, kind sir. I'm sure it will help me in my travels.: I'm sure it will. Good luck... au revoir.It's worth pointing out that in certain versions of the game, you can apparently swap the gold coin and golden needle in the trade sequence and come out fine. So that's a small mercy from the developers, at least. Also, we now own that cloak!   : This fine cloak is thick and warm. This man was a toymaker if you recall, and I bet he would be professionally interested in this marionette.  As an aside, this sort of trading is exactly what my great uncle did for a living. He's still got a garage full of stuff he's bought and traded for over the years. It's fascinating to look at, and he loves to tell about all the trades he made for whatever items. He's also the sort of person who doesn't let the truth of matters get in the way of telling a good story.  : Where did you get this wonderful marionette? The craftmanship is excellent!: Well, I don't know if you'll believe me or not, but I got it from a little gnome.: I must have it! Can I buy it from you?: Actually, you may have it... if you'll give me the sled in trade.: Why, of course! But I must tell you... I think I'm getting the better deal. I can always make another sled, but finding another marionette of this quality... I don't know.: So, I can have the sled?: Yes, yes! Take it. It's yours.: Thank you very much. I think I'll find this sled very useful.: Well, you enjoy it. And thank YOU for the marionette. : This is a small, well-crafted sled.   : What have we here? Mama, take those shoes from the young man. Let me see them. : The craftmanship of the shoes are superb. And, Mama, look at the solid gold buckle! Why, I could retire with the sale of these shoes!: Then the shoes are yours. I don't think I could find any use for them.: You're a godsend, young man! How can we ever repay you?: You don't need to repay me. Just knowing I helped you is enough for me.: Well, it ain't much, but it's all I've got to give. Here, take my cobbler's hammer. Perhaps you can find a use for it. Since I'll be retirin' I won't need it anymore... thanks to you.: Why...thank you. A hammer could come in mighty useful on my journey.: Take care, young man. We'll never forget this.: That's right, son. We'll finally be able to retire in comfort. You'll be in our hearts from now on.: Come on, Mama. Let's go home. Let's celebrate our good fortune! : A cobbler would normally use this small hammer to make shoes.The hammer is the item that caused our game over last time, or specifically the lack of hammer. Time for more fast forwarding. Need to pick up the pie and get abducted... for the third time. Monty Python and the Holy Grail - Intermission   That covers all the catching up. rope: Graham stoops down and picks up the sturdy rope from the stone floor. : A good strong rope is a handy item to have!This cellar is padlocked from the inside, which raises all sorts of questions. What we want to do is... door: Using the cobbler's hammer, Graham pounds on the rusty padlock until it breaks apart. door cabinet: Inside the cupboard, Graham sees a large, juicy leg of lamb. lamb : This is a large, mouth-watering leg of lamb.This is part of an utterly infuriating puzzle in a little bit. Aside from the rat, it's the puzzle most people have heard about regarding the game. We'll get to that in an update or two, though. Until then... show of hands. Who wants to see a dumb death? I thought so. east  : We gotta plan our next job, you guys. Hey! How did you get outta da cellar? : Dis time... rub 'im out for good!I love image 03-012, aka: graham_gets_blackjacked.gif.  : That wasn't a very smart move.Anyway, we just need to leave by the side door. west: Finding the kitchen door locked, Graham unlocks it before going outside. north, east x2  We've got all the items we can get from Serenia, and we have 110 points. That's all that we can possibly do here, so let's blow this joint. I don't know why we still have the golden key or the pouch, as we have no further use for either as far as I'm aware.  : Begone you slithery varmint! Scat! : Jerk...And that marks the end of the first half of King's Quest V. There's going to be quite a lot less bumbling and wandering from here on, as the second half of the game is incredibly linear. It's also where most of the Dead Man Walking scenarios from the first half come to terminate. NEXT TIME: The Serenian border mountains List of Points +4 - Returned the heart +2 - Got the harp +4 - Spinning wheel for a marionette +2 - Antony's golden needle +4 - Needle for cloak +4 - Marionette for sled +4 - Shoes for hammer +2 - Chewed up rope +4 - Broke out of the impossible room +2 - Stole from the innkeeper +3 - Scared the snake off Total 113/260 Register of Deaths Thanking the innkeeper for his hospitality
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Oct 9, 2017 11:24
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 Hello and welcome to the second half of King's Quest V. Let's not waste any time and move on to new stuff.  The next couple updates take place in the snowcaps of the mountains bordering Serenia.  Move a few steps and Graham starts to shiver. : Graham begins to shiver at the sudden drop in temperature.A temperature drop isn't sudden. Especially if you're high up enough on a mountain to be in the snow cap. I understand it's for the benefit of an obvious puzzle, but there's no way Graham didn't feel the cold before now. : Even Cedric looks cold as he watches Graham traverse the icy path. : Ooooh I've never been here before, but I think this is the way over the mountains.: I hope so, Cedric. I really do. Trying to navigate the screen, I learned if you click in this specific spot... : No! Stay away from the edge! : Uh oh. That last step was a doozy!Anyway, the screen is linear, so continuing along the only path, and not falling off... northeast This screen is where two previously mentioned DMW scenarios terminate. Did you forget to go in the inn? This is where your game ends. root Graham will freeze to death when you try to do something on this screen and haven't equipped the cloak for whatever reason.  : Well, Graham, how does it feel to be a POPsicle? : Graham dons his warm cloak for protection against the freezing mountain air. So let's try that again. root: Oh! Be careful, Graham! : Thanks for playing King's Quest V.The tree root looks like the object to attach the rope to, but it's naturally a trap. Instead we need to use the rope on something that looks like background scenery. Do you see that brown rock outcropping just to the right of the tree root? The one that looks like it's covered with snow? rock: Graham notices his stomach beginning to rumble with hunger from the exertion of the mountain climb. This warning is another invisible sword dangling over our heads, but we don't have to worry about it just yet. We've got, oh, one more screen before it becomes relevant.  First we've got to deal with this screen. Those tiny floating rock platforms in front of the frozen waterfall are unstable. Jump on the wrong one and down Graham goes. floating rock: Ooooh do be careful, Graham. Click on the closest one first and you can more or less figure out the route from there.   Just avoid the fourth platform from the left and you're fine. Again, this is a linear path, so exit is to the east. east : Graham, help me!: Cedric!This game has some great moments. Cedric being carried off by a wolf is near top of the list.  : Graham's hunger grows acute. Without food, he may soon die.This is your 5 step warning. Eat food now or die.   : Well Graham, remember when you turned down that last meal at home? So as a reminder, here's our inventory. We've got two items we can eat right now to not die: a pie and a leg of lamb. Which do you pick? This is another of those infamous puzzles in the game, by the way. Pick the wrong item to eat and you fail a puzzle down the road. There's no way to tell that you made the right choice. There's no diegetic way to figure this out. You just have to make a blind guess and hope you were right. The answer, by the way, was the leg of lamb. The pie has a special use that we'll cover probably next time. : Graham finds the leg of lamb a bit tough, but tasty enough. Filling up quickly, he saves the other half for later.You know, this is actually a good place to call it for now. We're about halfway done with the mountains, and coming up is another story section along with one of the dumbest puzzles in the game. NEXT TIME: The queen, the wolf, and the crystal cave. List of Points +4 - Equipped cloak to not freeze to death +5 - Climbed rope +2 - Actual platforming +4 - Ate the lamb and not the pie Total 128/260 Register of Deaths Taking a shortcut off a cliff POPsicle Tree roots aren't sturdy Actual platforming Starving to death
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Oct 11, 2017 15:22
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Graham picks up some snow and eats it.: Ahh! Life-giving water! Nectar of the gods! Graham can now feel strength and renewal flowing through him.
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Oct 13, 2017 01:30
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Once again, we're free of Cedric for a short time. Let's enjoy it before he inevitably turns up having become king of the wolves or something equally stupid.  southeast Seems simple enough. Let's just carefully navigate this path...  : Uh oh. That last step was a doozy!Should be pretty obvious what to do now that we know the know the path on the next screen kills us. Just look at that steep slope... slopeKing's Quest V - Mountain Pass and Sleigh Ride  : Drat my sled is broken.If you're playing this on, I believe, the floppy disk version of the game (the one with all the lovely copy protection) there's an easter egg you can do here. If you use your cloak on the broken sled... well, just look at the video. King's Quest V - Easter Egg Let's just continue on. east King's Quest V - Hungry Eagle  : A shivering eagle perches weakly upon a small rock. Despite his own problems, Graham's heart goes out to the poor thing. : The poor eagle gives Graham a pitiful look. Graham would like to help him... but how?Fine, fine. We'll do what we're supposed to. : What's wrong, Mr.... uh, Eagle?: I'm so weak from hunger. I haven't been able to catch any food for days. I can barely fly anymore.: I'd love to help you... let me see what I can do.: Thank you. I need food... *cough cough*We still only have two food items in our inventory. As good as I assume the custard pie is, I don't think our eagle buddy here would enjoy it. This, by the way, is a puzzle we need to solve now. If we go north from here, we're locked into the end sequence for the mountains. After we finish the puzzles there, we're prevented from returning. Failing to solve this eagle's problems will gently caress us over not too far down the road. So let's just give him the rest of our lamb and be on our way. : Here, take this. Perhaps it will help you. : You are a kind man to share your meager food with a poor bird... especially up here, in the snowy mountains.: Well, I couldn't just stand there and let you starve to death! What kind of person would I be?: I also have a custard pie for later. So don't worry about me.: You have shown yourself to be a kind, compassionate man and I will not forget what you did for me. Good-bye, dear friend.  Well, that was our good deed for the minute. The only exit is to the north and like I mentioned above, it's a point of no return. north King's Quest V - The Ice Queen   : I am Queen Icebella and you have entered MY domain now. I command you to KNEEL before me. : Since both you and your friend over there...: I wouldn't...: SILENCE! : Since both you and your friend over there have so thoughtlessly invaded my territory without my permission or knowledge, I have decided you shall both be put to death! Take him away, my pets! This is not a good puzzle. We've got about 5 seconds to convince this woman otherwise.   : Poor Graham. It's a dog eat dog world out there...Once the wolves reach Graham, it's game over. So you have that much time to figure out what to do. Do you remember a few updates back when I mentioned a DMW that lasted until the end of the mountains? Yeah, this is it. Do you remember the item I told you that in connection with? Like I said, this is not a good puzzle. The only clue we got for this puzzle was a throwaway line from the third update. quote:
A line that I'm sure none of you remember, spoken by a character I similarly doubt any of you remember is a clue for a puzzle much later in the game. King's Quest V is kinda badly designed. Click Here for Video  : Wait, my pets! : That was very lovely music. I've never heard anything quite that beautiful before. I think I felt my heart melting just a little bit. Just enough, that is, to allow you a chance for your freedom.: A vicious yeti has entered the area and taken up residence in my prized crystal cave. So far, I have been unable to extricate him from either the cave OR my territory. If you can rid me of the yeti I will release both you and your owl friend and you two can continue on with your journey unhindered. : You may rise now. I wish you luck in defeating the yeti. If you succeed you will have my undying gratitude. Go with him, Sir Greywolf. Show him the way to the crystal cave. You may go now. Sir Greywolf will lead the way.    : Yonder's the crystal cave. There you will find the yeti.This is actually a really good stopping point for now. NEXT TIME: The single worst puzzle in King's Quest V. List of Points +5 - Sledding +3 - Fed eagle +6 - Played the harp for Icebella Total 142/260 Register of Deaths Unstable mountain path Dog food
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Oct 13, 2017 22:36
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Hello everyone, and welcome back to King's Quest V. Today is going to be fun. I've already written a lot about how this game is not very good. It's full of bad and poorly thought out puzzles that don't seem to share the same logic the rest of reality works with. But the entire game has had two puzzles looming large on the horizon, casting everything else in their very long shadows. These two puzzles are the only contenders in the running for "worst in the game" and it's an award they share jointly. Today we are going to cover the first of them. So let's not waste any more time and get going. For related reasons, it's a really good idea to drop a save on this screen.  Descriptive saves are very important, as they let you easily return to specific parts of the game in the future. Here, context clues will let me know that loving BULLSHIT, after the Icebella save, means something very specific. It's also so very, very sad when you need context clues to make "loving BULLSHIT" clearer in terms of this game. northeast King's Quest V - The Yeti   : What an abominable situation Graham's found himself in. I like doing this more and more lately, but I want to drive home a point each time I do it. We have the correct item to drive off the dreaded yeti. So what is it? Do we use the harp to "tame the savage beast" or perhaps the hammer to bash its brains in? Maybe Crispin's wand to turn it into a faerie. How about the pie? yeti Yeah. The pie. The... the god... the f... THE PIE. That quote from Yahtzee comes to mind again. Allow me to repost it from earlier in the thread to refresh everyone's collective memory. "Zero Punctuation, the Walking Dead posted:First, think of a problem that the player has to get around... like, say, helping a cat down from a tree. Then, think of how a normal, sensible person would solve the issue with the objects that would be close at hand. Then seal your head inside of a half-full vat of boiling chlorine for about twenty minutes, and write down another way you'd solve the problem that at that moment makes perfect sense to your probably fatally poisoned mind. Repeat this process until you have discovered the most circuitous possible solution. Logic has left the building. It has no place in this Abstract puzzle solutions have always been a thing in adventure games. It's just what they do. The pie in the yeti's face on the other hand is just... who would even come up with that? WHY? Was this like Friday afternoon at quarter to five? If I go into the source code for the game will I see a commented out section saying "COME BACK LATER TO REDO THE YETI PUZZLE?" The alternative is that someone was actually proud of this puzzle. That they thought that they were clever and were self congratulatory about it. Now if you want a really depressing thought, think back to my ramblings at the start of the update. There's yet another puzzle solution that is just as bad later in the game. Let's just move on and walk into the crystal cave. It's kind of a tedious area to get through, and we have to get to the bottom. So I've found a map online to help out. So let's not waste any time. north King's Quest V - Crystal Garden I may have gotten the crystal caves mixed up with the Crystal Caves. Happens all the time. Anyway, this screen is optional insofar as if we don't visit it and find the single item, we'll get a game over in around an hour as we enter the final part of the game. After the pie incident earlier, I'm not feeling charitable towards the game right now. So the item we need is right under the walk cursor. How you're supposed to guess that I can't even pretend to know. Paranormal psychic powers work as well as anything else when it comes to trying to understand Roberta Williams. one specific crystal: So very gently, Graham hits the beautiful crystal several times with his hammer until it breaks loose in one piece. He carefully places it among his other possessions. The gif here isn't perfect. The narrator decides the perfect time to interrupt the animation is right in the middle, where he slowly reads the above line for a solid 10 seconds.  : The brilliant crystal shard feels smooth in Graham's hands.That's all we need to do here. So let's leave. south, west, to Sir Greywolf : I see that the yeti is dead. Queen Icebella will be pleased. Come... follow me.Click here for video   : Ah, good. You have returned in victory, I presume?: Yes, Your Majesty. The yeti is dead. He will no longer be a scourge upon your realm. Are my... friend and I free to go now?: Yes. I keep my promises. I want to thank you for ridding my mountain domain of the horrible yeti. Please rise, King Graham.: Yes, I know who you are and I have been informed of your quest. I do wish you luck against the wizard Mordack. : You two may go. We wish you well on your difficult journey. Sir Greywolf will show you the way out of the mountains. : Your Majesty, please pray for me to succeed in my quest.: Very well.: Also pray that after I rescue my family, I forget about your attempted regicide. Because if I return, it will be with an army at my back. Goodbye.: You can't talk to...: I just did. Now be quiet or get out of my way.: Graham walks right past Sir Greywolf without giving the beast a second look.  Now with Cedric back, we can take the southern path. If we hadn't gotten the crystal earlier, this is the last chance to do so. : Let's go, Graham! I'm coooold and I want to get out of here! south This screen is just transitory. I assume you can fall off the ledge here, but there's no funny death for doing so. The screen ends when you climb up to the ledge with Cedric, where a cutscene takes over.  : Graham, watch out!King's Quest V - Snatched and Rescued  I love the little village that's visible on this screen. I guess that means Icebella is a proper Queen after all. Not just some petty tyrant who carved out a tiny spit of land in the mountains that nobody cared about and granted herself a titular kingdom.  Alright so, this is basically just an extended cutscene we can interact with. Do you see that tiny speck next to Graham?  Do you see it now? You have less than 15 seconds to grab it. It glints constantly, to be fair. But if you fail to grab it, then you have entered one of the longest DMWs in the entire game. If you do everything else right, it doesn't terminate all the way until the final puzzle, deep in Mordack's island castle. You have absolutely no way of knowing that failing to pick up yet another literal pixel item almost a full hour previous is what hosed you over. Your only clue that you hosed up here will be that a plot critical NPC will not give you the time of day. glinting pixel : Graham rescues a lovely golden locket from the clutches of the roc's nest.Anyway, that Roc somehow thought that Graham was food for its unborn children. I guess it ran out of villagers to harass? By the way, that giant egg in the background is cracking.  : Uh... nice birdie! Good birdie! Heh, heh... gootchy, gootchy, goo!You have until Graham starts trying to placate the newborn Roc to pick up the locket. It's not a lot of time, so be quick! By the way, did you feed the eagle earlier? If so, then congratulations - you get to live. If not, then you get eaten by the baby Roc. : Hang on, I'll get you out of this!  : Oh Graham, where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!: You'd never believe it, Cedric. You'd never believe it.This is a perfect place to call it for now. NEXT TIME: We start the final major area of the game with yet another infamous "gently caress you" puzzle. Should be fun! List of Points +4 - The Pie +4 - Delicate crystal + HAMMER +2 - Pixel Hunt v4 +2 - Helped by eagle Total 154/260 Register of Deaths Yeti Friend
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Oct 17, 2017 02:52
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 Hello everyone and welcome back to King's Quest V. We're fairly close to the end of the game now. This section seemingly lets up from the linear path of the mountains, but there's typically only one thing we can do at a time. iron bar : It is a lovely golden locket on a delicate chain. Upon opening it, Graham sees a portrait of an older couple in regal attire. So as not to damage the picture, he quickly closes it again. : The heavy iron bar is a bit rusted from being out in the weather.Progress is to the north, but the path also goes south from here. So why not go that way first. south Not gonna lie, making a house out of the bow of a shipwreck is kinda rad. house: A makeshift house, fashioned from the bow of a wrecked ship, occupies the south end of a small, narrow beach. : Ooooh isn't this a funny house, Graham? What kind of person would live in a place like this?Let's calmly knock on the door and talk to the inhabitant. I'm sure someone who lives on a disused beach on the sheltered side of a very tall mountain is someone who wants company.   Who knocks on a door like that?: Graham pounds on the door, but finds it bolted from the inside. He can, however, hear activity within.Because Graham can't be trusted to knock on the door like a normal human, let's try ringing the bell for service. bell Good job, Graham. You disturbed a hermit.  : Who are you? What are you doing on my beach?: I am King Graham of Daventry and I'm on a journey to find the wizard Mordack's island. But I seem to be stuck; I don't know where to go from here.: Eh? What's that you say? There's a shitload of dialogue here, where Graham gets increasingly irritated at the Hermit ignoring him. Unfortunately, it's completely out of order in the transcript. So while I can show you the individual parts, I can't show how they fit together. : Eh? I can't hear ya!: What's that you say?: What? Speak louder, boy!: Eh? What's that?: I can't understand ya!: Gotta speak up, boy!: Eh?: What? I can't understand!: I can't hear ya! Speak up!: Can't understand a thing you said. Gotta speak up boy! Now, get on outta here!: Please help me. I need your help.: I just need some information.: Do you know where the wizard Mordack lives?: I don't know where to go from here.: Can you help me?: My family has been kidnapped by Mordack. I need to find him.: You've got to help me!: Please! Take the time to listen to me.: I need help to find Mordack's island.: I think I'm lost. I need your help.: I think you can help me...if you would only listen.Anyway, the Hermit doesn't seem like he'll be very helpful. So let's just go north instead. I think I saw a boat up there. north x2 : Look Graham, there's a boat here. Maybe we can uuuuse it. What am I doing, you ask? Oh... nothing. Just saving for no real good reason. Without dwelling on why I would show a save screen, let's climb in the boat. boat : C'mon Cedric, get in the boat!: Aye aye, captain! : Watch out, there's a hole in the boat!: Help! Hellllp!: Thanks for playing King's Quest V. boat: An old, cast-off sailboat sits forlornly on the narrow, sandy beach.There's another description, but for all my trying I was not able to trigger it. You're supposed to be able to look at the sailboat again to get... : Graham notices a small hole in the bottom of the old sailboat.After reloading from showing off the death, I clicked the eye on the boat four times, and was never able to get the second line to play. Just due to the nature of King's Quest V, anyone with the stubbornness to make it to this point is going to assume something is up with the boat. But when a cursory examination doesn't reveal anything out of place... I originally had this long rant about the "gently caress you" nature of the puzzle, and how the developers were changing the rules mid game. But the fact that the description is supposed to change and doesn't is arguably worse. Maybe you're supposed to leave the screen and come back. Who knows! Thankfully, the solution to this awful puzzle is straightforward enough. Just gotta plug the invisible hole. boat: Graham firmly wedges the softened piece of beeswax into the small hole in the boat's hull. Hopefully, the wax will hold and make her seaworthy. King's Quest V - Sailing and the Serpent The open sea is kinda like the desert in that there's a lot of places we could theoretically go.  This is a map from the King's Quest wiki. 18 squares, counting the 3 on the beach, and only one possible destination. Well, 2 if we enter the "here be dragons" section of the map. Let's do that actually. north: Graham, watch out!  : That is a nasty sea creature.The sea serpent is like the desert scorpion. It serves as a hard boundary to where we can't go. So let's rewind back to the previous screen. east x2, south, eastThis takes us right to "Harpy Island". Not like we have any choice in the matter.  King's Quest V - Harpie Island : Look, Graham! An island! Perhaps we should explore it.: Yes, I think we should, Cedric. : Ooooh Graham, I don't like the looks of this...: Me neither. : Graham! Help me!There's a required item on the beach. You can see it glinting in the gif. We'll have to get that in a moment.  Yet another glinting item in this gif. But first we have something slightly more pressing to deal with...   : Where did you find HIM, Minotta? : We found him on the beach. Isn't he luscious? Yummm!: I don't know... he doesn't look like MY type. What do YOU think, Cruleena?  : I think he looks too old and tough. I like MY meals to be young and tender.: Don't be so picky. I'm tired of fish. I haven't had a man in months.: Yes, you did. I saw you steal a man off a raft just last week!: Oh, he doesn't count! He was already picked over by the time I got to him! : Well, at least this one's fresh!: I don't know about you girls... but I'm ready to eat!: Oh, you're ALWAYS ready to eat. That's why you're so fat!: I am not!: You are too!: Oh, quit arguing, girls! Let's eat!  : Hate to harp on the subject, but... Graham was no match for the vicious harpies!Out of everything in our inventory, the harp is probably the thing that makes the most sense to use here. "Taming the savage beasts" and all that.  : What's he doing? What's that thing?: I don't know, but I want it! : Hey!: That's not fair!: Bring it back!: GET HER!  Now that we're done listening to Josh Mandel and Roberta Williams screech at each other, let's take stock of our surroundings. Do you see the tiny pixel item in the screenshot? I pointed its glint out earlier. Just look for the discolored pixel on the grass, next to the foreground rock formation. Yeah, be sure to pick that up. If we don't have that item, then it's just as bad as not picking up the locket from the roc nest. Both DMWs terminate in the same place for the same ultimate reason, actually. pixel: Half-hidden in the coarse island grass Graham notices an old fishhook. pixel: Graham quickly bends down and rescues the fishhook from the ground. : This is a rusted old fishhook.There's nothing more we can do here, so let's just leave. west cedric: Poor Cedric. Having been seriously wounded by the vicious harpies, he now lies, moaning and in pain, upon the sandy path.Cedric is dying. We could leave him here and be done with him. But... leaving Cedric to die is the third DMW that terminates at the final puzzle of the game. Believe me, if I had any choice in the matter, I'd leave that racist scumbag for the harpies. But we actually want to win, so... : Graham... *cough cough* Help me... : Cedric, where do you hurt?: Ooooh... everywhere... *cough cough* west glinting mess of pixels: Graham notices a large conch shell lying delicately upon the sandy beach. conch shell apparently: Graham bends over and picks up the beautifully-colored shell. boat  Whoops, poo poo. I forgot something.  north Hope you got everything the first time, including Cedric. Because if you come back, you die. Anyway, that's a good stopping point for now. NEXT TIME: Mordack's Island List of Points +2 - Found a prybar +5 - Plugged the hole +3 - Found the only island in the ocean +4 - Tempted the harpies +3 - Got Cedric +2 - Conch shell Total 173/260 Register of Deaths Invisible hole in the boat Here be dragons Harpy food x2
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Oct 18, 2017 23:09
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Hello everyone, and welcome back to King's Quest V. Last time, Cedric got greviously wounded by some harpies and now his life is in our hands. So let's not waste any time and get moving. If we consult the ocean map, we're not too far from the beach we started on. Right now we're directly south of Harpy Island. So... west x4 The Hermit is the only vaguely friendly person for miles in any direction, so we have to see if he can help us. Maybe he'll be more receptive if he sees Cedric is wounded... bellKing's Quest V - The Hermit : You still here?: Please help me. I need your help.: I can't hear ya! Can't understand a thing you said. Gotta speak up boy! Now, get on outta here! We've got a few seconds before he slams the door in our face, so let's see if we can't help him out.  : Graham can almost hear the ocean inside the spiral shell of the conch.I bet the spiral of the conch would be perfect for directing sound into the Hermit's ears. : What's this?: Graham mimes holding the shell, points at it, and then raises his hand up to his ear. The Hermit stares for a second and then understands and holds the shell to his hear.: Now what were you wanting?: My owl friend is hurt. He was wounded by the harpies.: Wounded by the harpies, did you say? Well, bring him on into the house. I'll fix him right up... good as new!The hermit has dialogue for if you left Cedric to die on the island, though it's largely the same. Just replace "bring him on into the house" with "if you can bring him to me." Let's just move on.   : Lay him on the bed there. These poultices should fix the little feller up good as new. : Ooooh I'm feeling better already! Tell me, what was in those pooooultices? My employer would be very interested in them. : Eh? What was that?: I said, what was in those poultices? My employer would be interested in them.: Gifts from the sea, lad. Gifts from the sea. Ain't nothin' special. You just gotta know how to use 'em. I don't think he'd find them particularly interestin'. : Now, son. What was it you was tryin' to tell me before?: I was trying to find out where the wizard Mordack's island is. He kidnapped my family and is holding them hostage there. I MUST get to them before it's too late!: Oh, I'm right sorry to hear about that. He's a nasty one, that Mordack. I wouldn't wanna tangle with him. I'd try to talk you outta goin' there 'cept I can see that you cain't leave your poor defenseless family unaided. I can enlist someone who can lead you straight to his island. Follow me outside. : The Hermit blows a nautical whistle.King's Quest V - The Mermaid  : Pearl, this man needs your help. He needs you to lead him to Mordack's island. It's a real emergency. Mordack's holding his family hostage. Pearl can't speak human talk but she's agreed to help you. Just get on into your boat and follow her.: Cedric and I want to thank you for all your help, Mr.... uh?: Don't worry about who I am. You just get on over to that there island and take care of your family.: Aye aye, sir. We're off! C'mon Cedric! I guess Pearl is taking us past the sea monster.  King's Quest V - Mordack's Castle Because there's no mistaking Mordack's island for anything other than what it is. : Oh, no! Watch out for the rocks, Graham!: Brace yourself, Cedric! Hope you found the locket, the iron bar, Cedric, and the fish hook. Because there's no going back anymore. : Help me, I'm caught! Oh, help! : Are you all right, Cedric?: Well, let me see... I'm fine, Graham. Just a bit rrrruffled, is all. : Ooooh I hate to say this Graham, but I don't like this place at all!: I know what you mean, Cedric... fish: Ugh, a dead fish. Well, maybe I can use it. : The smelly old fish is much too disgusting for human consumption. If you walk off right here, Graham screams for half a second and then you hear a splash. Then the generic "falling to your death" message plays. And if you... south: I think I'll stay here until you come back.  : Say hello to Davy Jones, Graham.Contrasting the deaths from Wednesday, these are pretty funny. Being randomly grabbed by a squid is pretty high up on the "you can't even get mad because it's so funny" list. Anyway, let's carefully walk up the path to the north. north : Ooooh I don't like this place. It's crrrreepy. snake: Two monstrous statues of grotesque, distorted serpents face each other across the narrow trail leading to Mordack's castle.Well this looks legit. Let's go north past the obvious guardians. north : Too bad. It looks like the EYES have it.So, this puzzle isn't too bad I guess? Graham is still wearing Madame Mushka's pendant, so this is some pretty powerful and evil magic. So there's only a handful of items that could work here. snakesIt seems fairly straightforward to me. But I could also just be thankful that it's not or yeti. The guardians are taken care of, so let's move on! north : Well, it looks like there's n-n-no way in. Let's turn back.: Come ON, Cedric!: Look, there is nothing on this world or any other that will stop me from rescuing my family. We're NOT turning back. You're free to go if you like, but I'M staying. End of discussion.Anyway, this is a transitional screen. There's nothing to do here but fall off a ledge and go around the corner to the left. And we've fallen off enough ledges in this game already. northwest : See? D-d-dead end! Let's go back now!: No! I'll figure this out.Well, the grate is dead center of the screen, and beyond the sheer drop and chaos rocks in the background, it's the only notable thing here. So that's probably what we need to mess with. grate: Graham notices a rusted grate imbedded into a stone platform of Mordack's castle. grate: Graham tugs hard on the grate but soon finds it's rusted in place and can't be budged.Alright, so before we pass this puzzle and end the update... I want everyone to take the time to say goodbye to Cedric. Because as of right now, we're officially done with him for the rest of the game. He's not going to follow us inside, and beyond some screentime in the ending and a slight cameo much, much, much later on, we're done with him period!  Oh, and apparently if you spend too much time on this screen, you get discovered by one of Mordack's henchmen? I only learned this just now by looking at the transcript. grate open grate: Ooooh you're crazy to go down into that dark hole; yoooou don't know what's down there!: Well, do YOU have any better ideas?: No... uh, mind if I wait for you here?: No, that's a GOOD idea, Cedric. You be the lookout out here!: Yes... I'll be the lookout. Be careful, Graham!: Graham rolls his eyes and climbs down into the dark hole.That's enough for now! NEXT TIME: Mordack's Maze List of Points +7 - A shell of an easier time hearing now +1 - Smelly fish 2 +5 - Blew up the snake eyes +4 - Wedged grate open Also some points I forgot to add in previous updates... +2 - Got tambourine +3 - Fed the eagle Total 195/260 Register of Deaths Falling into the water around Mordack's island from a height of 5 feet. Swimming home The eyes have it
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Oct 21, 2017 05:53
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 King's Quest V - The Labyrinth Hello everyone and welcome back to King's Quest V. We're very nearly done with this game, but before we can claim victory first we have to navigate an actual maze.  Even better, we have to navigate a maze where the perspective changes to always be behind Graham. There's no point in even showing screenshots of traversing it, because there's a unique angle for every possible way you could be turned.  Image courtesy of the KQ Omnipedia wiki. We start under the HOLE square, and the exit is DOOR in the top middle. However, first we need to visit a DINK square, so we're going to go to the lower left corner first. Dink can also show up in the upper left dead end of the maze, for what it's worth. He's always been in the first location that I checked, but something tells me he could just randomly not show up at any given location. This is King's Quest V, after all.   King's Quest V - The Dink Uh... hey there. beast: A huge beast, sporting a fluffy topknot bound in a crude hairpin on top of his head, skulks in one dark corner of the labyrinth. beast : Dink. : Duh... Dink! Dink! Duh... duh... duh... Dink!Let's try to get closer.   : Shouldn't play around with Dink, Graham!Dink looks like he might want something to play with. So...  I'm actually not sure what the thought process behind giving him the tambourine is supposed to be. My "giving him a toy" idea is the one that makes the most sense to me. The whole puzzle doesn't even really register on the KQ5 scale, to be honest. Let's move on, there's a lot more we have to cover today before we're done. Also let's not forget Dink's hairpin before we go. hairpin: Graham reaches down and grabs the hairpin off the labyrinth floor. : The hairpin is made of a carved piece of bone with a sharp metal clip attached to it.We're in the lower left corner. We gotta get to the top middle. It's a fairly straightforward path, but remember that the perspective always changes to be behind Graham. This maze sucks.  Just to make it that much more annoying to traverse, you have to click on the tiny border of the interior view instead of the edge of the screen like the other 99% of the game.  door: There is a wooden door here! Perhaps it will lead into the castle. door: Graham tries to open the wooden door, but to no avail as it's securely locked.We had to go visit Dink first, as we can't unlock the door without first having visited him. Now that I've said that, you can probably guess what to do here. door: Graham inserts the hairpin into the door's large keyhole and discovers, to his amazement, that it fits perfectly! Turning it ever so gently, he soon hears a soft click and the door is unlocked! King's Quest V - Mordack's Pantry The last several times we found ourselves in a pantry, we've needed to loot it for goods. So there's no reason to suspect this will be any different. cupboard : Inside the cupboard, Graham's eyes fall upon a bag of dried peas. The peas are the only object we can interact with here. Plus the narrator did specifically call out the peas, so... peas: Reaching into the open cupboard, Graham retrieves the bag of dried peas. north King's Quest V - Princess Cassima *Recommended listening* Do yourself a favor and click on that link. The theme that plays in here is a breath of fresh air. The girl in here, Cassima, is one of the main characters in King's Quest VI and her theme is part of the game's main theme. We'll cover that much more later, but for now... just enjoy this first glimpse of KQ6. cassima: A lovely young girl with long black hair, olive skin, and flashing green eyes laboriously scrubs the cold stone floor. Though wearing rags, her beauty nevertheless shines through.   : Don't come near me! Leave me alone!: I would never hurt you. I'd like to help you.: I don't believe you! You're probably one of... THEM!: I'm not; believe me.: Just go away... please! I don't want to talk to you anymore.If you didn't pick up the locket, this is all that she will ever say to you. We have no way of knowing that it's her locket, and I have no idea how the hell it wound up in a Roc's nest many miles away but... Click here for video  : Wherever did you find my gold locket? I thought it was gone for good. I lost it on the island just after I was brought here by Mordack.: You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Tell me, who are you... and how did you come to be here?: My name is Princess Cassima from the Kingdom of the Green Isles. My father, the King, employs a horrible Vizier who befriended Mordack. When Mordack saw me, he immediately wished to marry me and bring me here.: Naturally I refused and my father agreed with me. But our refusal angered him so much that he stole me here anyway, and put me to work as a scullery girl.: He says he will never let me go... that a scullery girl I will remain until I agree to marry him. But the thought revolts me! What am I to do?! : Don't worry. I'm here to save my family from the wizard. He's got them here someplace imprisoned inside a glass bottle. If I can manage to rescue them then of course I wouldn't forget you, either.: I know the glass bottle you're talking about! It's in Mordack's laboratory upstairs!: Keep quiet about my presence. I think this will be the most difficult part of my journey. I may not... survive it.: I would NEVER give you away. And I will help you in any way I can, kind sir. : By the way, who are you?: I'm King Graham of Daventry.: I think I know where that is! It's very far from my home, though.: Don't worry. Somehow... I'll get you home again. But first, I've got to save my family.: Yes, well... I'll stand by you, King Graham. I'll help if I can.: Thanks. I may need it.: Well, I'd better get back to work. And you should keep out of sight!: Aye, aye, m'lady.Well, meeting an ally in here wasn't expected. But it is welcome! So let's not get Cassima in any trouble and move on. east Neat. A pipe organ. organ: hideous, yet fascinating pipe organ commands attention as Graham walks through a downstairs hallway. organ: Graham watches in horrified fascination as the grotesque organ begins to magically play a weird tune all by itself.  : Goodbye, King Graham of Daventry.  : Poor Graham. Mordack shows no mercy.The organ is a gigantic trap. The last thing we want to do is attract Mordack's attention, so just ignore it and it won't summon him by playing a 90 second long clip of upbeat music in a minor key.  The dining room consists of two screens. We can randomly find a black cat hanging out here, as well as...  A weird blue alien creature that abducts us and tosses us in an oubliette.  That's a good stopping point for now. The DMW from the locket terminates here. It may be possible to get past the alien creature and up to the top floor, but in which case it terminates at the final puzzle. Either way, you're still a dead man walking for not grabbing a single pixel in 15 seconds. NEXT TIME: Hoggle helps us escape the oubliette, and then we go on to confront the Goblin King and get Toby back List of Points +3 - Friends with Dink +2 - Borrowed Dink's hair pin +4 - Lockpicking +2 - I want peas +4 - Befriended Cassima +2 - Dropped in a cell with no exit Total 212/260 Register of Deaths Very expensive, Graham Force choke
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Oct 24, 2017 03:08
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bladeworksmaster posted:King's Quest does indeed work on the "Only the casting wizard can undo the spell" rule here. Side material shows Alexander knows about this and is fully bullshitting Mordack to stall for time, if I'm not mistaken.  Mordack probably wouldn't be very kind to Alexander or the royal family if he knew the fine print of the spell. It's also pretty likely that even if the spell were reversible, Alex would have no idea how to do it. Also update coming shortly.
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Oct 25, 2017 12:16
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 King's Quest V - Jailed and Rescued Hello everyone and welcome back to King's Quest V. This looks pretty grim. We're locked in a cell with no way out, and at least one other person has already died in here. ceiling: Above him, Graham can see a damp, rusty grate leading to...who knows where?Being captured by the blue alien was actually something that needed to happen. Do you see that tiny mouse hole in the background? Well, when you first get thrown into the cell, a rat scurries into it. That's your only clue that you can do something with it.  mouse hole : Graham can see a small, moldy piece of cheese just inside the mousehole. cheese: Graham finds that his hand is too large to reach very far into the mousehole.: Graham can't reach into the mousehole far enough to retrieve the piece of cheese.: Graham can ALMOST reach the piece of cheese inside the mousehole... but finds his hand too large to reach very far.Hint. Hint. Hint. Hint. Hint. This cheese is another "gently caress you" item from the developers. We'll need this in just a short while, but we have no apparent way of getting it. Do you remember the last pixel hunt we went on a couple of updates ago? cheese: There! Got it! The fishhook did the trick in retrieving the piece of cheese from the mousehole. : The bag is full of round, dried peas. : Green mold covers the small piece of cheese.Now that we're carrying around moldy cheese, we can just chill for a bit.  : Hello.: What? Princess Cassima! Where did you come from?!: From the labyrinth. I spend a lot of time down here, you know... with my friends.: Friends?: Yes. Like Dink... and Sam. I don't know if you ever saw Sam or not. Anyway, I found this loose stone once that led here... to this cell. Now come on! You'd better get out of here!Now you know why I said that failing to get the locket would gently caress you over. You need that cheese for a later puzzle. While I believe it is possible to get to Mordack's lab without befriending Cassima, you would still fail on the same puzzle as the cheese. So that's why I believe the locket is the longest DMW in the game, just for how long it takes to terminate and how far back you have to go just to set the situation right. hole We step out of the oubliette and into the maze, but Cassima is nice enough to lead us back to the door.  In this one situation, Cassima is our personal Spider Man. That is to say, she'll only save our rear end once. Let's return to the dining room. We have to lay a trap for an rear end in a top hat.  We only saw this briefly in the gif last time, but this is the second screen of the dining room. The blue alien will typically ambush you here.  But first, what happens if you get caught twice?  loose stone: The stone can't be budged anymore. loose stone: It looks like someone replaced and mortared the loose stone.We're pretty well boned here, guys. After a little less than a minute of waiting... : After observing no discernible escape route from the small cell, Graham sinks to the floor in despair, knowing he will never see the light of day again. : Too bad! So close, yet so far away.Our current big problem is the blue alien creature. He's pretty aggressive and shows up regularly, so to have any peace of mind we need to stop him. How? Remember when I complained about the devs watching too many cartoons? Just... blue alien  I want you to imagine the sound effect it's making while tripping on the peas. The prior sentence about cartoons is related. You're probably right with your first guess. blue alien: A large beast lies stunned on the floor. west I need a specific character to show up on this screen, so I just have to pace back and forth until it shows up.  Do you see it in the middle of the screen? It's a mass of black pixels. pixels : You! How did you get here?: I have journeyed far; over land and sea...: Never mind! Your journey is now over! : Graham, that was Manannan. He kidnapped your son and enslaved him for the better part of two decades.: Wait, what? Aw, crap... : Goodbye, King Graham of Daventry! Heheheheh. We saw this death last time, so let's just rewind to before Merovingian got away. So how do we deal with Mxyzptlk if he runs away when he catches sight of Graham? Well, let's look at our inventory.  That's new. Looks like the bag of peas is now just a burlap sack. I'm getting an idea...  : Graham carries a large empty bag once occupied by dried peas.I bet Manny is hungry.   : Meeoooorrrrwww!!: Let me out! Mordack will hear of this!: You must be Manannan. Alexander told me all about you. Don't go anywhere. After I deal with your brother, we're going to have a nice, long talk.: Contrary to his usual jovial nature, Graham's voice is icy and full of barely-suppressed rage. sack: The cat struggles in vain inside the bag. upstairs So, there's some good news. The upstairs hallway marks the beginning of the end! We just have six puzzles between us and the end of the game, and four of them make up the final confrontation with Mordack. east This must be Mordack's laboratory. He seems to be, among other things, into metalworking because that's a forge on the right side of the screen. This is actually a pretty nice lab if you ignore the vein-like tree roots covering most of the surfaces. Most importantly, there's a glass jar in the foreground that looks awfully familiar. jar: Tears come to Graham's eyes as he sees his beloved family and castle held captive inside a large glass bottle.There's actually nothing we can do in here right yet, so let's leave for now. west x2 Mordack's bedroom is pretty creepy. It doesn't look very homey or inviting at all. bed: A large, grotesque bed occupies one corner of Mordack's bedroom.It doesn't look like it, but there's an exit to the south. south bookshelves: Many books and scrolls line the shelves of Mordack's library. As Graham looks them over, however, he finds them mostly unintelligible.Looking at this gigantic library, I wonder just how many books in it Mordack has read. That's actually something I wonder about most large private libraraies. Anyway, there's an open book in the foreground that looks like decoration. We can click on it for some valuable information. book: A large tome lying upon a corner desk attracts Graham's curiosity. book : Hmmmm, this looks interesting. Graham wonders what the symbols mean.The points jingle happens when you click on the book, but the particular points guide I'm using doesn't have it listed. It still has 260/260 points, so... For what it's worth, a guide on GameFAQs says there's +3 from reading the spellbook. I'm gonna stick with the one from SierraHelp.com that I've been using for most of the LP. It's the first result on Google and is, for the most part, comprehensive. Anyway, this particular image will let us actually win the game. It appears to show someone turning into various animals, as well as a sweaty butt.  08:41 The video file for the update has been running for 8 minutes and 41 seconds as of this screenshot. More importantly, you all know what a bolded timecode means...  09:41  10:41  11:51  If you're standing in plain view when Mordack teleports in, I seem to remember him killing you for it. So here I was trying to show off this death I vaguely remembered, but it didn't quite work out. I guess he was tired as hell. Snorb posted:If Graham moves far enough into the library, the eye above the door opens and tracks his movement. If Mordack's supposed to appear in his bedroom while the eye's open, he appears in the library to Force choke Graham out. north : Mordack lies asleep on his huge, horrendous bed. : This would not be a good time to bother Mordack.It would be so easy to kill him here. All Graham would have to do is wrap his hands extremely tight around Mordack's neck and not let go. But nope... can't do things the easy way. : Graham wisely decides to keep his mouth shut. Can't even show off funny deaths. Anyway, there's something laying on the bedside table. Let's steal it. object on table: Mordack's wand lies temptingly upon the small table near his bed. wand : Mordack's wand glows brightly with restrained power. east x2That's a good stopping point for now. NEXT TIME: The end of King's Quest V List of Points +4 - Retrieved cheese +3 - Cartoon pratfall +3 - Tempted the cat +2 - Captured Manannan +3 - Stole Mordack's wand Total 227/260 Register of Deaths Captured twice Mannfred told on Graham DoubleNegative fucked around with this message at 03:27 on Nov 13, 2017 |
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Oct 25, 2017 14:18
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 King's Quest V - Mordack's Laboratory This whole update is available in video form. Click here to watch it if you like. Hello everyone and welcome back to King's Quest V. The final update is upon us. God it feels so good to be able to type that sentence. Several updates ago I had some words to say about how in a game full of bad puzzles, two stood shoulder to shoulder as joint title holders of "worst in the game." The first was the yeti puzzle. We've had yet to see the second one, but that changes today. forge: Hot coals burn in an open-pit fireplace built against a side wall.I'm not crazy, right? That's a forge, right? There's even metalworking tools on the wall. room: Graham has found himself in a large room filled with many unusual contraptions and magical implements. His heart feels like bursting when he notices his family imprisoned within a large glass bottle sitting upon a corner table. bottle: Looking at his frantically waving family inside their glass prison makes Graham's heart break as he realizes his inability to save them from their terrible predicament.We can't do anything down here, but there looks to be some stuff upstairs. So let's take a gander... stairs By "some stuff" I mean the contraption at the far end of the upstairs balcony.  Several people got mad when they saw this screenshot. machine: Graham has no idea what Mordack does with this strange contraption, but it couldn't be good! Inside the lower portion a foul-smelling liquid bubbles while two dangling spiked gizmos hang on a massive yoke above a couple of flat iron platters. machine: The bizarre machine looks very intimidating and confusing which makes Graham reluctant to touch it; conversely, it also intrigues him.There's absolutely no indication what this machine does, or what you should even do with it. Easy money says you should put one item on each platter, but what items?  So for the last time in the LP, here's our inventory. There's only two similar items in our inventory, the wands, so they're probably meant to go on the two platters. left platter right platter So that's all well and good, but now what? There's no indication in the game of what to do next. I know more than one person reading this is going to defend the puzzle by saying "but you can just brute force the solution" but that's bullshit. Puzzles like this, or the yeti, or the witch and the bottle, or even the bridle on a snake are bad because there is no internal logic to them. For other puzzles in the game you can kind of see what demented logic the writers were using. There's a thread of consistency with the rules in the game as we understand them, and how the puzzles work. A solution may not be immediately intuitive, but when you get the answer you can see what the writers were thinking to a degree. Puzzles like this violate that relationship because at that point all consistency is gone for the sake of selling 5 minutes of time on Sierra's 1-900 hint line. I hated the game so much, but the Witness was the only "adventure" game that punished brute forcing puzzles. Each set of puzzles introduced a concept, and expanded on that concept as you progressed. It was fully possible to brute force solutions, but then you'd get stuck six down the line when it came time for the final exam. Brute forcing a puzzle is never a solution. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. When the intended solution, however, is just to brute force the answer, then we've got a major problem on our hands. We're in such a state here. I've looked at the puzzle and thought about it, trying to work out just what Roberta Williams was thinking. If I'm as generous as possible with the term, then the only "hint" that I can come up with was posted above when we looked at the machine. Here's the relevant bit of information, with the "hint" bolded. : Graham has no idea what Mordack does with this strange contraption, but it couldn't be good! Inside the lower portion a foul-smelling liquid bubbles while two dangling spiked gizmos hang on a massive yoke above a couple of flat iron platters.With "foul-smelling" being the operative phrase for the "hint", we can narrow down our options to a single one. machineHow you're supposed to guess that particular phrase is the hint, I'll never loving know. Furthermore, I don't know why cheese powers the machine. Nothing about this makes sense. You know what? I'm just tired of this game. I'm tired of trying to dissect the logic involved. Let's move on. The end is right around the corner.  Here we can see the machine activating its blinkenlights features.   Well, Crispin's wand looks livelier now. crispin's wand : Crispin's wand glows brightly with renewed power.King's Quest V - Battle with Mordack  : What's going on here? : I'll take care of you... you SWINE! This is the termination point for all remaining DMWs. If you forgot anything then this is where you die. : Graham... I've heard from Crispin! Let's see that again. I could watch that all day and never get tired of it. : What the...? What have you done to my wand?! You think you can outwit me, little man?! Hah! Let me show YOU a thing or two! What the hell is that?  All deaths from here on are identical. : That wasn't a very smart move, Graham.  It's those four drawings we saw earlier, though in a different order. Out of everything we can turn into, the tiger looks the most useful here. A rabbit is too small to get away from this thing, and the two abstract drawings don't make any sense. So... tiger animorph : Why you little...: What's the matter, afraid to face me? It was here that I lost my patience for showing the various permutations of how Mordack can kill you. So that's the last death for the run.  rabbit animorph: You think you're so smart, don't you? Well, I've got you now!: I can do this all day long. : Sssssssssssay good-bye, sssssssssswine!: Oh puh-lease. Is swine the only insult you know? I've met wandering enchanters more threatening than you are.: I'll get you for that! abstract animorph in the upper left corner Apparently that undefinable blob is supposed to be a mongoose. Good to know.  : Ssssssssso! If thisssss issssss the way you want to play... the bottom left icon  This is the ending. Why they let you skip the ending, I'll never know.   : NOW why won't you work?! : Oh... Princess Cassima! Well, I did it. Mordack is dead.: Dead? Are you sure? Maybe he's only trying to trick you!: He's dead, all right. He turned himself into a fire and I put him out with rainwater. He'll never bother anyone else EVER again! But now I have a bigger problem; I don't know what to do about my family or my castle. I don't know how to turn them back to normal!: After all you've been through, there MUST be a way! : Crispin! : I have the solution to ALL your problems, Graham! : While you and Cedric were gone, I did some asking around, and found out that YOUR son, Alexander, had the dubious distinction, if you may, of turning Mordack's brother, Mannanan, into a cat some time back.: Graham nods.: Right. Oh, that reminds me. Princess Cassima, would you do me a favor and get that sack of peas just down the stairs?: The bag of peas? Sure, but why?: It has Manannan inside. Be careful he doesn't claw you.: Cassima runs off and returns a moment later with the sack of peas. She carefully hands it to Graham.: Obviously, this deed angered Mordack who could do nothing about it since this particular spell could only be undone by the actual perpetrator... your son.: It doesn't take a great genius to figure out that Mordack took your family and castle in revenge and to try to `persuade' Alexander to restore Mannanan back to his old self.: I DID discover, as now I see, that your castle and family were miniaturized and imprisoned inside a glass bottle. I did some research and found the spell for turning everything back to normal. Now watch! : Hocus, pocus, ALIOCUS! : Valanice! My children! My joy knows no limits! : Oh, Father! I'm so glad you're here!  : Oh... Princess Cassima! How could I forget you! Come over here. : Let me introduce you to my family. This is my wife, Queen Valanice. : Hello.: My daughter, Princess Rosella.: Hi.: And my son, Prince Alexander... who started this whole mess! All of you, this is Princess Cassima from the Land of the Green Isles. Without her, none of us would be standing here now. She bravely saved my life! : My Lady. I am deeply in your debt and I will make it up to you. With your permission, I'd like to travel to the Land of the Green Isles to see you.Keep it in your pants, Alex.  : All right! Now that we're done with the formalities, let's get on with business, shall we? : Higgledy, piggledly, POOH!Crispin just saying magic sounding words to fix all the problems is bothering me. This game has graduated from bad puzzles to simply lazy storytelling. The entire ending is literally "a wizard did it" style deus ex machina. Also incantations don't work like that in the King's Quest world. After this game they will go back to the old "rhyming quatrain" style. So I don't know why King's Quest V is the odd one out. Anyway, let's get back to the ending in progress. : Be assured that your castle is right back where it belongs... and the right size too! But NOW, it's time that everyone return to their homes... with MY help, of course. Alakazam, alakazoo...: Graham eyes the crumpled form of Cedric and sighs.: Wait... wait. What about Cedric?: Where IS Cedric?: Over there! Mordack may have killed him! Is there ANYTHING you can do about it?: Hmmmmm, let me think. Ah, yes! I think I know.: Abra... abracarbara... no. Uh, abra... codora... hmmmmm. Now, what IS that confounded word? Oh, yes! Abra... cadabra!: Alexander frowns at the sounds Crispin is making, but doesn't say anything. : Ooooh, Crispin!: Cedric, it sure is good to see YOU again!: Ooooh, Likewise, I'm sure.: All right. Enough is enough. Let's get on with it. Okay, Cassima. Let's send you home first. Wasn't that the Land of the Green Isles?: Yes, that's right! I can't wait to see my parents again! Good-bye, Alexander. Perhaps we'll meet again.: You can be sure of that, m'lady. : Before you send us all home, Crispin, I just want to thank you for all your help. And, you too, Cedric. I wouldn't be standing here with my family without you two. I'm deeply, deeply grateful.: All in a day's work, my boy. All in a day's work. Right, Cedric?: Right, Crispin!: Okay, back home you go! Alakazam, alakazoo, ALAKAZEE!   King's Quest V - Ending Titles : Well, there she is...our happy home. And we're all safe and sound once more. Let's go home, shall we?: Yes, let's. : Have I got a long story to tell you all about my journey. Do yourselves a favor and never take on a small animal for a sidekick...  The credits for this game are a little long for a gif, so I'm not going to show them off. If you're curious, you can watch the video I linked at the start of the update. Anyway, that's King's Quest V. I'm glad to be done with this game. But our long, national nightmare is finally over. NEXT TIME:  List of Points +2 - Pixel Hunt 1 (Silver Coin) +2 - Guessing you can look in the barrel +2 - Walked into the Dark Forest -2 - Except not really +4 - Saved bees +2 - Got some honey +2 - Retrieved stick +4 - Played fetch +2 - Ahh! Life-giving water! Nectar of the gods! Graham can now feel strength and renewal flowing through him. +2 - Stealing a dead man's shoes +3 - Found the temple +2 - Hid at the temple +3 - Found bandit camp +2 - The magic staff +2 - Open SESAME +2 - Gold coin +3 - Brass bottle +5 - Madame Mushka's reading +2 - Actually entering the dark forest +4 - Gave the witch a genie +2 - Saw a single pixel key +2 - Leather pouch +2 - A town with money +3 - Unlocked the tree +2 - Heart taker +4 - Honey trap +6 - Elf kidnapper +4 - Got boots +2 - Bought pie +4 - Saved rat +4 - Returned the heart +2 - Got the harp +4 - Spinning wheel for a marionette +2 - Got tambourine +2 - Antony's golden needle +4 - Needle for cloak +4 - Marionette for sled +4 - Shoes for hammer +2 - Chewed up rope +4 - Broke out of the impossible room +2 - Stole from the innkeeper +3 - Scared the snake off +4 - Equipped cloak to not freeze to death +5 - Climbed rope +2 - Actual platforming +4 - Ate the lamb and not the pie +5 - Sledding +3 - Fed eagle +6 - Played the harp for Icebella +4 - The Pie +4 - Delicate crystal + HAMMER +2 - Pixel Hunt v4 +2 - Helped by eagle +2 - Found a prybar +5 - Plugged the hole +3 - Found the only island in the ocean +4 - Tempted the harpies +3 - Got Cedric +2 - Conch shell +7 - A shell of an easier time hearing now +1 - Smelly fish 2 +5 - Blew up the snake eyes +4 - Wedged grate open +3 - Friends with Dink +2 - Borrowed Dink's hair pin +4 - Lockpicking +2 - I want peas +4 - Befriended Cassima +2 - Dropped in a cell with no exit +4 - Retrieved cheese +3 - Cartoon pratfall +3 - Tempted the cat +2 - Captured Manannan +3 - Stole Mordack's wand +8 - Put both wands on platters +5 - Say cheese +4 - Used wand on Mordack +4 - Tiger spell +4 - Rabbit spell +4 - Apparently a mongoose +4 - Dousing the fire Final Total 260/260 Register of Deaths A pooooisonous snake! Not BEEing careful Swimming in a river Toadally unprepared Meeting the Innkeeper Feeding the bears Failing to drink water in the desert Being a spy, apparently x3 Meeting the friendly bandits Being a greedy rear end in a top hat Graham the genie Permanently stuck* Thanking the innkeeper for his hospitality Taking a shortcut off a cliff POPsicle Tree roots aren't sturdy Actual platforming Starving to death Unstable mountain path Dog food Yeti Friend Invisible hole in the boat Here be dragons Harpy food x2 Falling into the water around Mordack's island from a height of 5 feet. Swimming home The eyes have it Very expensive, Graham Force choke Captured twice Mannfred told on Graham Faerie dragon hugs Dragonfire Final Total 35 deaths, 1 unwinnable state
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Oct 27, 2017 16:06
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 Out of all the King's Quest games, this is the one that most people regard the highest. It has the least bullshit and is generally pretty friendly for a Sierra adventure game. Unlike the previous game that was lousy with them, there are only a tiny handful of dead man walking scenarios, all of which are only present on the path to the best ending. Yes, there are two paths to the end of the game; both paths are different, but the only difference at the end is who is present in the final cutscene. The longer path is a lot more fun than the shorter one, as well. So to that end, I will just show off the path to the best ending and full points, which also tells a better story. Speaking of Story It's been several months since the deus ex machina at the end of King's Quest V. In that time, all Alexander has done is think about the girl he met for all of five minutes, Cassima. When he sees her face in the magic mirror, he finally sets out to find the place where she lives, a place nobody has ever heard of, the Land of the Green Isles. Spoilers? The story and the puzzles are why we're here. Don't be a dick, spoiler tag your poo poo. The Updates #1 - Mirror Mirror on the Wall #2 - The World Famous Talking Bear #3 - What a Totally Believable Coincidence #4 - The Magic Smap #5 - A Tour of the Islands #6 - Exam Puzzle #1 DoubleNegative fucked around with this message at 06:29 on Nov 14, 2017 |
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Oct 29, 2017 21:38
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 Hello everyone. We've arrived at the good one.  Welcome to King's Quest VI. drat it feels good to be able to say that. I've been anxiously waiting to get to this one.  By the way, this whole update is available in video form. Click here to watch it.  : Long ago, in the castle of a kingdom called Daventry... King's Quest VI - Opening Movie and Introduction King's Quest VI admittedly doesn't start off on the right foot. The opening cutscene aged pretty poorly. Alexander here looks like he's made of clay. It's also the only cutscene of its type in the game, so just grin and bear it for now. The game looks a whole hell of a lot better after this.  : Alexander! Here you are! You're still not thinking about Cassima, are you?: Hmmm? I suppose I am.: Son, it's been MONTHS. You've GOT to pull yourself together. After all, you only met her that once...drat. Alex has got it bad for that cute girl he met once for all of five minutes. By the way, if you're watching along with the cutscene, then you might find Alexander's voice a tad familiar. Unlike King's Quest V, where programmers, QA people, and Roberta Williams did all the voices, Sierra dished out some money to get professional voice talent. Alexander here is voiced by Robby Benson, who had the starring role a year prior in one of Disney's most famous animated movies. Yep, that's the voice of the Beast playing Alexander. The narrator is done by Bill Ratner, who played Flint in the GI Joe cartoon, a shitload of narrators all over, and Ambassador Udina in the Mass Effect games. You can also hear Tony Jay doing several voices in the game as well. : I know.: Have you discovered anything about the Land of the Green Isles?: No! No one's even heard of it! It's like she's just vanished!: I wish I could help. Please try to think about something else, dear.: I'll try, Mother. : Despite his family's concern, Alexander remains tormented by thoughts of Cassima.: Hours pass...    : --ander.. : --lexander... : Alexander, I feel so alone... I don't know what to do.  : Alexander, I wish you were here. Alexander...: Cassima! Wait! : MOTHER! MOTHER, COME QUICK!: Alexander, what on earth? You're white as a ghost! : Mother, I saw Cassima! She was in the mirror!: In the mirror? The magic mirror?: Yes! And it showed me how to find her!: How? : The stars! I saw the stars outside her window! I can navigate by the stars!: Oh, Alexander... If you really go...: It will be alright, Mother. I promise.By the way, that token appearance from the magic mirror? That was the last time any of the three treasures from King's Quest I appear in the games. Who knows, they might appear in King's Quest VIII. But playing that is like playing Ultima IX... nobody does it unless they're deliberately playing lovely games for the Internet.   Early 90s CGI is not a pretty thing.   : Three long months Prince Alexander sailed the known seas... and beyond.  The camera is doing a lot of sweeping shots that look really nice but bloat the size of a gif.   : Land ho. Land ho! LAND HO! I see Graham sent Alexander out with the most trustworthy sailors in the kingdom.  : As the ship nears the shore, day turns to night and the sea turns violent...    Looks like Alexander's ship ran into a problem. Fancy. King's Quest VI - The Beach  : Alexander awakens to find himself on an unfamiliar beach. For a moment, he is too dazed to remember how he got here. : Then he does remember. The shipwreck... sea. Just as he had seen his men safely into the life boats, a gigantic wave picked him up and tossed him overboard, into the churning sea.: That was the last he'd seen of his crew. Debris from the shipwreck is scattered along the shore, but of the life boats and his men, there is thankfully no trace.: He can only hope and pray that the life boats survived the currents, and that his men made their way safely back to Daventry.So, once again, welcome to King's Quest VI. Alexander just survived a shipwreck against all odds and is now standing on an unfamiliar shore. We'll begin the LP proper next time, but for now, let's take a look at the interface.  This is still the standard VGA interace. The icons have changed around, but you can look at them and intuit what they all do by this point. Even if this is, somehow, the first game in this thread you're reading, you can probably still make educated guesses about what the icons do.  The options screen is the same as usual. Don't let the 231 points fool you, this game takes about 4 hours if you plow straight through to the best ending without stopping to explore along the way. The "DUAL" button at the bottom is something added by ScummVM which lets me have text on the screen while the narrator's voice plays. For instance, if I...   This will make copying from my transcript a lot easier, because I can just page through my recording without having to stop to listen to it every 3 seconds. I'll still probably do that anyway, because I loving love this game. It was the first adventure game I ever played, and it still holds up even after 25 years. So to end this update, let's go for a swim in the ocean. We'll start this LP off on the right foot.  ocean : The ocean is not as calm as it appears. Underwater currents tug at Alexander's legs.King's Quest VI is about as friendly and welcoming as a Sierra point and click title will get. In none of the games has it ever been a particularly good idea to go out swimming in the ocean. The other five will kill you for even trying. 6, though? 6 warns you. If you wade out thigh deep in the water, you get this message, and it's your chance to turn around. Let's push our luck. ocean: The underwater tow is amazingly strong here. It pulls ferociously at Alexander's legs. Before Alexander can retreat, the current grabs his legs! The shifting sand vanishes from beneath his feet! Against his best efforts, he is dragged out to sea! : The currents around the island pull Alexander under! As Alexander struggles to the surface for the third and last time, he finds himself wishing he'd paid more attention to the warning signs of an undertow!  : Tickets only. NEXT! That's a good place to stop for now. NEXT TIME: We explore the island and get our bearings. Register of Deaths Swimming in the ocean
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Oct 29, 2017 21:38
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Hello everyone and welcome back to King's Quest VI. Before we move on, there's a couple items on this screen that we need to pick up sooner rather than later. They're an unfortunate holdover from the previous game, a few glinting pixels. As best I can remember, the items on this screen are the only such occurrences in the game. So let's just roll our eyes at the bad design holdouts and move on.   glinting pixels: Alexander's royal insignia ring lies abandoned on the sand. It must have slipped from his finger during the shipwreck. Fortunately, it was not lost in the sea. ring: Alexander picks up his royal insignia ring from the beach.The other item on this screen is a little harder to find, and when I first played this it took me ages to realize you could do this. Do you see that plank to the right side of the screen, that looks like background decoration? wooden plank: A long plank lies on the beach. No doubt it once belonged to Alexander's ship. wooden plank : Alexander pushes the plank to one side. A box has been partially buried under sand.Bear in mind, this was my very first adventure game. I'd never even heard of Sierra at that point. I was like... 8 when this game came out, and we'd just gotten our first Windows-based PC. so the fact that something like this...  Was even doable was beyond me at the time. box: Alexander's treasure box lies partially buried in the sand. It must have washed ashore with the other ship debris. box  The glinting pixels in here stand out, and most importantly, there are no time constraints here. So I'm feeling more inclined to be kind to these pixel hunts as a result. Plus there's no impending game overs if we don't get them. This beach ain't going anywhere, and we can't get very far in the game without the ring or the tiny coin in this box. coin: Alexander takes the coin and leaves the ruined box where it is. The inventory is largely the same as usual. Though we can now talk to our inventory objects for a funny line or two.  : Alexander is carrying a copper coin of Daventry. King Graham graces the front of the coin.: Alexander rubs his fingers over the indentation of King Graham's face on the copper coin, and thinks fondly of home. : Ah, if only Alexander's father could speak now and give his advice! : If an owl starts talking to you, kill it on sight. : Alexander's ring is made of the purest gold and has the insignia of the royal family of Daventry on its face: Alexander is already wearing his ring.: Reminiscing of home is fine, but the ring is not a very good listener.I've played this game so many times over the years, and I didn't even try playing with the inventory until I was doing my test run for the LP. So even 25 years later I'm still finding out new stuff to love about this game. Anyway, let's get on with the game. north tree: A grand old tree stretches its luxurious limbs out over the crossroads. village: To the left, a small village seems to invite the weary traveler. castle: In the distance, a majestic castle shines in the sun.We're going to the castle for this update. To get maximum points, we have to introduce ourselves at the castle before we do too much on the island. There are a bunch of optional dialogues you can only get if you do things in strange orders. For instance, if we never go to the castle to introduce ourselves, we'll eventually hit a game over at the very, very end when we need a plot critical NPC to recognize who we are. To get that game over, you have to go well out of your way to trigger it. So I don't really consider it a proper DMW scenario. I mean, yes, it is... but not in the King's Quest V sense. Plus the guards at the local castle will probably have a pretty good idea of where we are and if Cassima is nearby. Who knows, it may even be her castle. It totally is. northeast I like the little touch that you can see characters walking up the path to the castle.  King's Quest VI - The Castle Those guards look rather strange. Let's get a closer look. guards: Two guards take their stance in front of the castle doors. They look quite fierce and have the stiff, blank expression of soldiers on formal duty.Let's introduce ourselves. guards : Alexander politely addresses the odd-looking guards at the castle doors, hoping to learn more about his predicament.: Good day to you, guards. I was cast upon this island in a storm, and I'm a little confused about my location. Could you tell me what place this is, and who lives in this castle? : Eh? What is that you say? A castaway? A likely story! We haven't had any foreigners in this part since Alhazred arrived. : Don't be so rude, Gruff! He is not asking for any secrets.Guard dogs. Oh that's bad.  : You're standing on the Isle of the Crown, lad, and this is the Castle of the Crown. The royal family resides here. Or, rather, what is left of the royal family.: The Isle of the Crown? But tell me, am I anywhere near the Land of the Green Isles?: This IS the Land of the Green Isles! The Isle of the Crown is the main island, foolish boy!: Then Princess Cassima must live in this very castle!: Aye! The princess is indeed our treasured jewel to guard--and we consider it an honor!Well, we at least learned we wound up where we intended. Now we just need to get in to see Cassima to... I don't know what Alexander's intentions are here, or what he even hopes to accomplish. I guess he wants to give Cassima this note he wrote.  We need to talk to the guards to continue, by the way. : Excuse me, guardsmen... er... guard dogs. I've been traveling for months to see Princess Cassima. I would like an audience, please.: I'm sorry, but the princess is not receiving visitors. Particularly not strangers.And again. By the way, at any point in this process we could shortcut the proceedings by just showing the right item. : I really must see the princess. Could I please speak with someone in charge?: Who are you that I should bother Captain Saladin?: My name is Alexander. I'm a prince of Daventry and a friend of the princess.: A prince is it? I see. And I am Lord of this dusty path! Step aside! You'll not be getting into the castle without some proof of your claims!I should actually be using a third dog for the portrait in the above dialogue. The game doesn't try very hard to keep the different guard dogs straight. There's at least six different guard dog voices, including Josh Mandel just straight up doing his King Graham voice for one. It's hard to get an accurate bead on how many guards there even are because, as you can see, even in the same conversation the game is changing voices around. There's also a bad Clint Eastwood impression in the bunch as well. So I guess that makes seven? For the purposes of the LP, and to keep things easier on my end, I'm only ever going to use and . Just imagine different voices each time they speak up and you'll more or less have the same experience as playing the game. Anyway, to make a long story short, the game finally outright told us what it wants us to do. So... : Alexander decides to try his royal insignia ring on the guards. With all of his papers lost in the shipwreck, it is the only possible proof of his identity that he can think of.: Perhaps this ring will convince you of my identity. It is the royal insignia ring of Daventry.: Hmph. I'm sure. Just let me look at that ring.: Well, er... *cough* I'm sorry, your highness. It's just that princes are so uncommon in these parts. Let me get Captain Saladin.  : The guard returns a moment later with a majestic-looking creature. Captain Saladin speaks with a voice that is gentle but reflects a will of iron. : Prince Alexander of Daventry, I presume. I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with your country, but I'm sure Vizier Alhazred will want to meet you--if indeed, you are a friend of the princess. Please, follow me.This is Tony Jay's primary role in the game, though he does voice a number of smaller one-off characters as well.   King's Quest VI - Lord Abdul Alhazred **Recommended Listening** : Lord Alhazred, a visitor to see you. Prince Alexander of Daventry. : What is it that you seek, Prince Alexander? By the way, the mysterious shirtless guy's eye twinkles gold. Something to keep in mind. Also, this guy is literally named Abdul Alhazared. Gee I wonder if he's the primary antagonist. : Pardon the intrusion, my lord, but I came to see Princess Cassima. Some months ago my father, King Graham, saved my family and I from imprisonment under an evil wizard named Mordack.: The same wizard that kidnapped the princess?: Exactly. When my father rescued us, he also liberated Cassima and sent her home.: Then your father has my gratitude, and that of the entire kingdom, but I'm afraid I still fail to see the purpose of your visit.: *ahem* Well, I came to make sure that Cassima arrived safely and to pay my respects. Before we parted, she gave me an invitation to visit.: I have no doubt she did exactly that at the time, Prince Alexander. However, things have greatly changed for Cassima since her ordeal in Mordack's castle.: Cassima's parents both became ill and died while she was gone. Cassima is sequestered in mourning for them, as befits a princess. She is not receiving visitors of ANY kind.: Even if she were, I do not think YOUR visit would be... appropriate. You see, it is time for Cassima to take her responsibilities seriously. With her parents gone, she no longer has the luxury to be a carefree maiden.: As was her parents' wish, Cassima and I are to be wed. We shall rule the kingdom together. I assure you, our marriage is all Cassima wants now. As a prince and a gentleman, it would be best that you leave before there is any further... embarrassment.This makes her last line in King's Quest V really sad.  Cassima, in KQ5 posted:
: I see. I suppose that I was mistaken. I thought for certain that Cassima... Well, I apologize.: A young man sees what he wishes to see. I'm sorry you've wasted your time traveling to the Land of the Green Isles. May your journey home be swift.: Perhaps I will take the opportunity to look around your fair land while I'm here.: I would advise against that. The kingdom is rather, shall we say, 'inhospitable' these days. But it is YOUR neck. You may risk it if you please.: Captain Saladin will escort you from the castle. Good day.Curious that Alexander didn't mention that his ship wrecked on the shore and he was stranded here. Though I can hardly blame him for not revealing more to Alhazred.   : You have had your hearing with Vizier Alhazred. I trust you'll respect his wishes and not return. I have been instructed NOT to let you into the castle again. Good day, m'lord.: Captain Saladin whispers something to the guard dogs at the castle gate, and they nod with understanding. Alexander has a feeling they won't be letting HIM into the castle again.Just to drive the point home... : Please, if you'll only be reasonable. I really must see the princess.: Begone! You're not welcome at the castle, Prince Alexander of Daventry! We have our orders, and they are quite clear!It will be an incredibly long time before we'll find ourselves back in the castle. In fact, we won't be in there again until we're ready to win. In the meantime, let's poke around some more. west wall: The side of the castle is one big blank wall.Someone should paint something there. It would look really nice. Maybe a big mural? Anyway, there's absolutely nothing we can do here beyond waste time. So now that we've been here, let's move on.  Back to the crossroads and into the village. west King's Quest VI - The Village **Recommended Listening* The game has a very strong Arabian Nights theme. Alhazred has a vague accent that suggests Arabic origins, while the musical theme for the village has a "Middle Eastern" feel to it. Surprisingly for an early 90s game, it's not full of stereotypes. I guess Sierra got all of that out of its system with Shamir and the very strong Casablanca influences in QfG2. Anyway, there's only two shops in the village that we can see: a pawn shop, and "Ali's Books". There's also the peddler dude camping out across from the bookstore. Let's talk to him first. While we're on screen, he periodically calls out...  : Old lamps for new! Old lamps... for new!This is another Tony Jay voice performance because I guess they wanted to get their money's worth. Tony Jay won't appear again until we're committed to the long ending path. : Good day, peddler.: Good day, sir. If you would like to get one of my fine new lamps, I'll need an old lamp in trade.: Isn't it rather a bad business--taking old lamps and giving new lamps in exchange?: Well, there's always a chance that I'll find a genie. If I had a genie, I'd be richer than a king! Besides, there's always a roaring business in antique illuminaries.Fair enough. We'll just... go over here now. pawn shop  : Good day! : Good day, merchant. What can you tell me about the Land of the Green Isles?: I can tell you she is in a dark time. Without the ferry, communication between the islands has ground to a halt and so nearly has my business.: Why the long ages of peace have ended, and why the Crown has not done something about it, is beyond me!: But then, I am a shopkeeper, not a politician, and can only hope for better days.I like this guy. It's never brought up in game, but his name is apparently Hakim. Anway, let's get on to the meat of the update. We're going to look at some of the poo poo in this pawn shop... mostly the stuff that sticks out the most. Also some of the shelves because there's a bunch of flavor items on those as well. wings: A strange-looking winged device occupies one corner of the room. It is frail with disuse. Alexander finds it intriguing. Perhaps, he thinks, it was once used in a local sporting event in which enthusiasts jumped from cliffs, glided on air currents, and then attempted to land, frequently crunching a bone or two in the process. Alexander shudders at the thought and decides to stick to dragon-slaying. bear: Towering mightily over the other pawn shop curiosities, the stuffed bear makes an ostentatious display. bear: The world-famous talking bear has been sulking ever since his abduction from a small mountain community in California. He refuses to discuss real estate.I guess someone stole a stuffed bear from the Sierra studios? armor: An old suit of armor stands in the pawn shop. It looks like a vigilant guard against thieves and carpet salesmen, even though it IS headless. skeleton: A tall skeleton lends an air of mystery to the shop. skeleton: He's speechless. shelf next to the bear: The back wall of the shop holds various odds and ends. For example...: ...a hull-hole detector for finding those hard-to-spot holes in small sailboats.: ...cat-cookie mix. "Play tricks on your friends," the box says.: ...a golden bridle finder, for finding those nearly-invisible golden bridles.: ...self-adhesive emeralds. "What you use when you don't have honey.": ...tongue climbing gear. "Tested on over one hundred whale tongues.": ...a uvula tickler. "Guaranteed to make large mammals sneeze.": ...a cheese hook, for retrieving cheese out of small holes.: ...a shovel that's "Guaranteed not to break for over one-hundred grave diggings!": ...a bridge repair kit, for when you've crossed a bridge one too many times.: ...stair traction pads; "Stop slipping off those narrow staircases." shelf behind Hakim: The back wall of the shop holds various bottles and potions. For example...: ...a bottle labeled "Owl Courage Potion," for spineless owls.: ...a bottle of "Gnome-be-gone.": ...miniature carpet cleaner. For those castles-in-a-bottle.: ...bird's nest soup mix. Treasure not included.: ...garlic especially grown for vampire resilience.: ...magic mirror glass cleaner for "when your future looks fuzzy.": ...shark repellant.: ...a small box of "Enchanted Sorcerer's Flea and Tick Collars."You know, I've wanted to do a LP of King's Quest VI for a very long time. Now that I'm here, I'm really glad that I did the whole rest of the series first. These items are a much funnier with context. Finally, let's take a look at the counter. counter These four items are the important ones in the shop. Over the course of the adventure, we're going to use all of them. thing on the far right: Have you an interest in tinder boxes? This one is only slightly battered. It holds a good supply of flint, a sturdy striking pad, and even a candle in case you find yourself with naught else to hold the flame. paintbrush: Ah, yes, the painter's brush. It was well-used by one of the island's best painters. There is a lot of creativity in that brush, and its bristles are still in good condition. flute: The flute is only made of plain wood but its notes are fine and true. bird: I see you have noticed my mechanical nightingale. She is made of plain tin, but she sings the sweetest song you can imagine--barely distinguishable from the real thing.: I'm just looking for now. I'll be back later.: Of course. I will be happy to help you then.Let's end the update there. It's running long and we're not done with exploring the village yet. NEXT TIME: Ali's Bookshop, the west end of the island, strange children List of Points +1 - Claimed insignia ring +1 - Moved wooden plank +1 - Got Grahamcoin +3 - Proof of identity +2 - Audience with Vizier Alhazared Total 8/231
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Nov 1, 2017 22:54
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Honestly, just through the course of playing the game countless times over the years, I've messed up in almost every possible way unintentionally. As such, a lot of my KQ6 knowledge is half remembered stuff from those fuckups. So it's completely possible that I'm misremembering something, or had forgotten an item.
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Nov 2, 2017 01:27
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Xander77 posted:Where are those portraits from, anyways? I've played several different versions of KQ6 over the years, and never encountered them. The DOS and Windows ports have two different portrait styles. IIRC there's a way to select which one you get if you're playing through ScummVM, but I don't remember how at the moment.  Here's a side-by-side comparison that I stole from Reddit.
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Nov 2, 2017 17:59
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Informal poll while I type up the next update. This will affect something a tiny bit next week. Do you prefer... Alice in Wonderland Classical Mythology Dense Forests
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Nov 3, 2017 18:17
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 Hello everyone and welcome back to King's Quest VI. The pawn shop was fun to visit. We actually could have gotten something in there, but we'll save that for later instead. Anyway, on our tour de village, the next step is Ali's Books.   : Hello. I will be right up. : Now! What can I do for you?This is Ali, as you probably can guess. He's actually someone we need to talk to in order to progress the plot of the game along. We actually get points for talking to him and everything.  Huh. Weird. The cloaked old man in the corner has a glinting golden eye. Oh well. : Good day, sir. I'm a stranger in this land. What can you tell me about the Land of the Green Isles?: That is quite a question, young man. Who are you, and what would you have me tell you?: My name is Alexander. I know I'm on the Isle of the Crown, but I'd like to know whatever you can tell me about this island, and if there are other islands nearby.: You are indeed a stranger! Anxious is the man who knows not the customs of the land beneath his feet!: This island is called the Isle of the Crown because the royal family's castle is here. Besides the castle, we also have this village, and the docks over to the west.We'll be visiting the docks later in this update. : There are at least three other islands; the Isle of the Sacred Mountain, the Isle of the Beast, and the Isle of Wonder.: At least three? Does no one know for certain?: *laughs* This is no ordinary land, Alexander! The Land of the Green Isles has always been a place of vague boundaries--as if islands come and go.: Legend speaks of a fourth island, an isle shrouded in mists. I myself have never seen it.: Then, too, the Land of the Green Isles is said to exist on the boundaries of this world and the next. Even darker places are reputed to be closer here than anywhere else in the world.: That's quite a claim!: *laughs* Claim, yes, but probably just local superstition. We who live here on the Isle of the Crown, at least, sleep well enough at night!: Those first three islands you mentioned. How might I learn more about them?: Ideally, a young man seeking such knowledge would travel to their shores and learn about them first-hand. Meeting the leaders of each place would be helpful, naturally.: Unfortunately, the ferry no longer runs between the islands. There has been much political unrest, and it has been too dangerous to travel for years.: Perhaps the ferryman can tell you more. He has little enough to do these days.: And if you haven't been there already, you might seek an audience at the castle.This last line is a hint to do this, so you don't miss out on the points for doing so. : Thank you, kindly, merchant, for all your good advice.: Ah, but advice is free, Alexander. Making use of it costs much more.If you talk to Ali a few more times, he has some generic dialogue as well. : How fare you, merchant?: Quite well, thank you. I just finished a wonderful book on geological rock formations. Fascinating!: Well, I would be better if I could only finish my manuscript. I am a budding novelist, you know.: I have been reading too much love poetry lately. It is rather depressing to an old bachelor like me.: Business could be better. Too many people are losing interest in reading these days. *sigh* It is a sign of the times.Do you see why I love this game so much? These four alternate lines give him more character than the pie shop owner or the tailor in King's Quest V. That's to say nothing of the shoemaker and his wife. Almost every NPC in the game is like this. They're actual characters with motivations, not just cardboard cutouts with the world's most generic dialogue propping them up. Do you know what the difference is? Jane Jensen worked with Roberta Williams to write the script and the difference shows. They both have equal billing as the game's writers, actually. Anyway, back to the game. There's a book on the counter that's kind of important. counter book: An antique, leather-bound book is displayed on a little stand on the counter. On the elaborate cover is the title, "Ye Useful Booke of Magick Spells."We could ask Ali about it. In fact, we'd even get points for doing so. But I dunno... there's something about this old hooded guy in the corner. He stared holes in Alexander the whole time he was talking to Ali. Something tells me that I shouldn't ask about the book yet. It doesn't matter when we ask about the book. It doesn't affect anything, but... give me this for now.  hooded figure: An old man occasionally steals sidelong glances at Alexander from under a concealing hood.Let's make friends with him. old man: Good day, sir.: The mysterious old man just ignores Alexander.There's not as much stuff to look at in here as the pawn shop. Let's start with the book in the middle of the room that stands out. book in middle of room: There's a book entitled "The Changing Role of Court Entertainers Through the Ages" on the small table in the reading area. It appears that some regular customer likes that book.And starting under the window and going to the right across the room... shelves & shelves: A collection of children's books fill those shelves.: Alexander is a little old for those children's books.: These shelves hold a selection of cook books.: Alexander isn't interested in the cook books on that shelf. He's had an aversion to cooking ever since he experimented with a certain cookie recipe involving cat hair and fish oil.: Assorted travelogs and biographies are arranged on these shelves.: Right now, Alexander is too involved with the journey he's on to take time to read about the journeys of others.: These shelves hold a collection of oddly-titled guidebooks. Alexander notices such books as "How to Become King with Little or No Rupies Down," "Finding the Right Girl with the Right Dowry," and "Why Good Princesses Like Bad Wizards.": Alexander is not interested in those self-help books.: Volumes of poetry are on display on this bookshelf.Well, I like poetry. Let's take a closer look. rightmost bookshelf : Thinking of Cassima, Alexander decides to leaf through one of the volumes of love poetry. He reads: : Thy hair, thy lips, thy beauteous face,and all thy studied female grace, have won for thee anon a place, within this broken breast. : Not bad. And another...: Upon the shore the lilies bend,untouched by worldly care. Where shadow they her earthly bed, Oh, that she were not there! : Yikes! And another...: What was it when I looked at you?What pow'r has chained me through and through? And binds my heart with links so tight, I cannot live without the sight of you? What nameless thing has captured me? And made me powerless to flee? What thing is it without a name, that brings my mind e're back the same to thee? The name of 'love' cannot apply. It's commonness does not descry, the haunted, hunted, painful cry that my heart makes for you. That ere my soul eternal makes for you. : Hmmm. A little close to home, that one.: Alexander returns the love poem book to the shelf. Oh dear. Well maybe Ali will know what to do with it. fallen page: Alexander picks up the fallen page. It's the love poem he particularly liked. It must have fellen out of the poetry book.: I see that old volume has lost another page. You may keep it if you like, sir. I have glued the stubborn thing back in place two times already!: I do rather like it. Thank you, merchant. : Alexander has a love poem from a book in the book shop.: Alexander reads the love poem... (The whole long thing is read again and I'm not recopying that. If you forgot what it was, just go re-read Monika's last poem above.: The poem's written words speak plainly enough.Finally, there's one more thing to look at in here. stool by door: There's a small table near the door that bears a sign. The sign has undergone a number of changes. It once read "10 pence," but that was crossed out and replaced with "5 pence," then "1 pence," then "free." The sign currently reads "Take one, PLEASE.": Only one book remains on the table. It looks like the book shop owner really wants to get rid of that book!Free is free. YOINK! free book: Alexander picks up the book from the small table.: Oh, yes! Please, take that book! You have my most humble thanks for doing so, good sir!: It's so boring that nobody wants it!: Really? Thanks! : Alexander is carrying a book from the bargain table in the book shop.: That object has nothing to say.: Alexander opens the bargain book and reads a paragraph at random.: Two dulcimas raised to the degree of 40 halfdulcimas, divided into equal parts by the third of a cackle of grouse geese, put over the result of ten finemackels (albeit small finemackels), stretched over the total of....: *big yawn*: Phew! What an incredibly boring book! No wonder the book shop owner wanted to get rid of it so badly.Right. That's enough of that. Let's get the heck out of here.  Still at it lamp dude? Keep on keeping on, I guess. through the arch King's Quest VI - Beauty, the Young Servant Girl girl: There's a young girl in the yard. The girl is dressed in a long, plain, orange robe with a thick headdress. From the appearance of her clothes and from a skittish, fearful look about her, Alexander gets the strong impression that she is a servant--or even worse, a slave.We can't do anything here for now. If we continue walking, the door opens and out pops...   : You lazy thing! Get back to work and stay away from those roses! I've told you a million times, those flowers are too sweet for the likes of you! You've still got to do the breakfast dishes, make lunch, and clean the stables yet this morning! And get your veil back on! No one wants to look at your face! : Yes, Stepmother.And that's the end of that. Let's just continue on. around the corner King's Quest VI - Boy in the Water Hey, that boy has shining golden eyes too! What a totally believable coincidence. For real, though. This is the last time I'm going to go out of my way to point out things with golden shining eyes. From here on out, you're gonna have to keep an eye out for it yourselves.  : Hey! Stranger! Come join me! The water is wonderful, and I can show you the way to the next island! : A young boy is happily swimming in the sea off the docks. : Good day. I'm Alexander. What are you doing in the sea?: What does it look like I'm doing? I'm swimming! *ahem* I mean...come join me! The water's wonderful! I can show you the way to the next island! ocean: The waters in the cove appear calm, but there's a dimpling patter to the surface which indicates an undertow.: What are you waiting for? I said I'd show how to get to the next island, didn't I? Come join me if you're brave enough!Seems legit. gently caress it, let's trust this kid with the whimsical theme music. : Considering the poor condition of the shore, it looks like the easiest way to get into the water is to just jump off the pier. : Glad you could join me. Ha ha ha.: The powerful currents grab Alexander. Struggle as he might, he feels himself being pulled out to sea. : Hahahaha. Not a very good swimmer, are you?: *glub* Help me!: Sorry! I think not! *cackle*: As his head submerges for the third time, Alexander finds himself pondering the wisdom of going out on a limb for a stranger. I'm cutting the update here early. A game I've been waiting months for came out today, and I'd kinda like to get some time in to play it before the night is over. NEXT TIME: We finish up our business on the Isle of the Crown List of Points +1 - Talked to Ali +1 - Read love poetry +1 - Page fell out +1 - Took free book Total 12/231 Register of Deaths Gold eyes, take warning 1 DoubleNegative fucked around with this message at 23:57 on Nov 6, 2017 |
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Nov 4, 2017 02:27
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The Thread While I Wasn't Looking posted: Is... is everything alright in here?
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Nov 5, 2017 21:11
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Apologies for cutting the update short last time. Let's get right back to it. We can't do anything with this boy, so let's just ignore him. After about 30 seconds of pointedly not paying attention to him, he sulks and disappears in a puff of logic. : All right, be that way! Don't come in the water! You'll be sorry! : That's strange. The young boy in the water just disappeared. Oh, well. Perhaps he just dove under the water.: I just watched him disappear in a cloud of smoke.: Yep. Must have dove right under. door on the boat  : Yeah? Whaddaya want? I don't know why they make you click the speech bubble on the ferryman, Hassan, here. I guess you'd think it would be implied. Also you have to be super precise here, and it's really easy to click the speech bubble on Alexander by mistake. : Alexander promises himself that he will not go home until he has determined what Cassima's feelings are for him, and if she needs his help.You might see that message a couple times before you get it right. I don't miss the text parser in general, but it's a lot easier to type >talk to ferryman than try to click on the tiny white blob that makes up his stupid outfit. : Excuse me. My name is Alexander. The owner of the book shop in the village told me you might be able to help me. I hear you used to run this ferry for the islands. I'd like to talk to you, if you have a moment.: Ya say old Ali sent ya? I can't see why. The ferry's not running, ya know.: I understand. I'd just like to talk to you about the islands if you don't mind.: Well, I guess it'd be all right--if Ali sent ya. Don't just stand there. Come on inside. King's Quest VI - The Ferryman : What is it ya wanted to talk about, young man?Hassan here has a bunch of conversation topics about the islands and the political climate. So let's get going. Assume each one is preceded by... : I'm a visitor to these islands. I'd like to learn what I can about the area.: So ya said outside. What is it ya want to know?: Well, for one thing, why has the island's only ferry been dry-docked?: Hmph. It just ain't safe to sail these days, what with the islands feuding and all. Vizier Alhazred ordered the ferry closed 'til things settle down. Me, I don't think she'll ever see water again. *sigh*: But why are the islands feuding?: Ya got me. Something about stolen property or some such thing. 'Tis a real shame. Things used to be so friendly.: Then this unrest is recent.: A few years is all, but it's been long enough.: Perhaps if the ferry were repaired?: This old thing? This ferry's been out of water so long, she's no longer even seaworthy. Her boards have dry rot. She'd fall apart at the first taste of seawater!: But there must be some way to get off this island!: There's only one other way to travel that I know of--a magic map. The owner of the Pawn Shoppe can tell ya more about that than I can, Alexander.This was the important conversation. This triggers the event flags that let us talk to Hakim about the magic map and get off the island. Everything after this is purely worldbuilding and background. So if you want to skip past it, then just scroll down until you stop seeing Hassan's face. : Tell me more about the ferry.: I remember when I used to ferry Queen Allaria and Princess Cassima themselves! There was no thought of danger back then. They used to go visiting to care for the needy and to keep up the friendly relations between the islands.: I remember their last trip. Things had started getting nasty by then, and when they came back aboard I gathered that the queen and the princess had been received a bit coldly. Princess Cassima was such a pretty thing, and she was terribly upset. 'But, who could be spreading these lies?' she asked the queen. But the queen had no answer.: What do you do now that the ferry no longer operates?: Me? I'm out of a job--the job my ancestors have held for generations. I'm the only one trained to avoid the reef and the rocks, but that knowledge does me no good now.: Is there no other boat on the island? One that might be more seaworthy?: Boats don't last long on these shoals, as ya may have found out if ya got here by ship. Ya can be quite sure that this ole ferry is, or was, the only craft on the island.: Tell me more about Princess Cassima.: Ah! Such a beautiful child! And so pure of heart! Why, a contrary thought has never crossed her mind. Her mother was the same. The king and queen, they served the islands, not the other way around. Always thinking 'bout the people. *sigh* They are sorely missed.: What else can you tell me about the Land?: Let's see. The Isle of Wonder's a lovely spot. A bit crazy, mind. Ya gotta have a good sense of humor to enjoy a tour there.: Somethin' for ya to keep in mind if ya ever wind up goin' there yerself... it's a very literal island.: I'm sorry, but what?: You'll... understand if ya ever go there, Alexander.: What else can you tell me about the Land?: The Isle of the Beast is pretty, but unfortunately ya can't get very far onto the island.: Word is there used to be a castle deep in the forest. But ain't nobody ever seen it. Most who go lookin' for it never come back. And the few who do tell tales of the trees shifting around.: What else can you tell me about the Land?: The inhabitants of the Isle of the Sacred Mountain are the most gorgeous creatures ya'll ever see. If ya ever get to see them, that is.: I met one once. He had his nose so high up in the air he'd have drowned in a rainstorm.: What else can you tell me about the Land?: The Castle of the Crown sure is a beauty. She's the finest palace ever built, I'll warrant.: What else can you tell me about the Land?: Some say that the Land of the Green Isles is near the edge of the world, and that the deadly currents are a result of a magnetism that sucks life from this world to the next. Of course, that's just silly talk...: The island's currents keep us pretty isolated. I can only recall three visitors in my lifetime. When I was a boy a wanderer came, Alhazred himself arrived many years ago, and now you. We have almost no contact with the outside world, but we're content with our little kingdom. At least, we always were in the past.: This wanderer... was his name perhaps Derek?: Now that you mention it, yeah. Why?: He's a friend of my family.: That so? Small world we live in.That's all that the ferryman has to say. So if you skipped all the worldbuilding talk, then stop scrolling here. thing on the table: I see you have a rabbit's foot. Has it brought you much luck?: Hrmph! As ya can see, my luck's been out for some time now, despite that old charm. Why don't ya take it with ya? Perhaps giving the darn thing away will bring me good fortune at last!: Perhaps it will at that. Thank you.: Well, I think I'll be going now. Thanks for allowing me into your home.: Posh! Not at all. It breaks the boredom, if ya know what I mean. *sigh* : The rabbit's foot has long, soft fur.: The long fur of the rabbit's foot is soft to the touch.I'm going to skip using the talk command on items unless there's something funny from doing so. Otherwise it's just a generic "That object has nothing to say." line. Anyway, let's hurry back to town. There's still a few things we need to do before this update can close out.  First off, we need to stop in Ali's books. Another flag triggered when we talked to Hassan, one that I didn't realize happened this early until fairly recently.  : Good day again! How may I help you?King's Quest VI - Jollo Now that the old man in the black cloak is gone, I feel more comfortable asking about the magic book on the countertop. : How much for that book on the counter, merchant?: It is a fine book, is it not? I obtained it from the estate of the one and only magician this kingdom has ever had. Poofed himself into an aardvark in the end, or so I heard.: I never found the spells all that useful myself, but then I lead a boring life. I tell you what--if you can find another rare book, something a bit more marketable, I might be willing to exchange the spell book for it.I know it's not, but I like to think that this is the ultimate end of the rear end in a top hat Enchanter from KQ1 and KQ2... that he moved to (or was originally from) the Land of the Green Isles and turned himself into an aardvark by accident. Anyway, this is something we'll need to file in the back of our mind for later in the game. We technically don't need it at all if we're going for the short ending route. All the spells inside only serve to help us on the path to the true ending. But we'll cover that much later in the game when we eventually get it. For now, let's talk to this fellow with the whimsical theme music.  : Good day, sir. Is there anything you can tell me about the Land of the Green Isles?: I'm sorry, but I've no time for idle conversation. I'm too worried about the princess.: Excuse me again, sir. You mentioned the princess...: I told you I'm not interested in talking to strangers!Let's introduce ourselves. Maybe this guy subscribes to the "strangers are only friends you haven't met yet" theory.  : Determined to learn more about the strange man's relationship with the princess, Alexander shows the man his insignia ring and formally introduces himself. : I'm sorry to insist, but my name is Alexander of Daventry and...: I appreciate the offer of the ring, Alexander, but I'm afraid I'm already spoken...: Daventry? Where have I heard of Daventry? Flying flitmice! You must be Prince Alexander! Cassima told me about you when she arrived home! How came you here?: Why, by a ship, now wrecked upon the sand! But--you know Cassima? She truly spoke of me?: Yes, yes. I saw her briefly when she first returned home. She mentioned a prince to me, Prince Alexander of Daventry. I'm afraid that was before she was told about her parents' deaths.: You see, she arrived home a few weeks too late. The king and queen thought they'd never see her again. It is said they died of heartbreak. I'm afraid she's blamed herself.: What a terrible homecoming! If we had only known...: *sniff* Terrible indeed, poor thing. Everyone in the kingdom seems to despair with her these days. The streets are silent.: Where is she now?: The princess is sequestered in mourning. It's a rather dated tradition, and not required, but the vizier says she insisted out of respect.: I see. You've yet to say who you are, and how you know the princess.: I? Oh, pardon me! My name is Jollo. I am clown to the royal court and have been since the marriage of Cassima's parents, King Caliphim and Queen Allaria. Ah, those were happy days! The pair of them were so full of joy and life! So in love!: And Cassima's birth... It would be hard to explain how long they had waited, how they had hoped for a child. She was such a charming little thing, smart as a whip, kind and sweet. She means everything to this kingdom, Alexander, and to me. I am so terribly worried about her.: About her grief over her parents, you mean?: Well, the truth is, I do not trust the vizier, nor his plans for Cassima. I'm still living at the Castle of the Crown as court clown, HIS clown, but it is more to keep my ear to the ground than out of loyalty.: I wish I knew what the princess thinks these days. *sigh* If only I could find Sing Sing, Cassima's pet nightingale, I might be able to send the princess a message. As it is, I must wait for the end of her seclusion.: Now, I'm afraid I must hurry back to the castle. I'll try to return to the book shop again later.: Thank you for speaking with me, Jollo. I hope we meet again soon.  Due to what I suspect are engine limitations, Alexander can't move while Jollo is on the screen. It happens every time that we're on a screen with him walking around.  Here, we're following him around to see what he's doing. Mostly for some optional dialogue.   : Good day, Jollo.: Greetings, my fine-furred friends! back to town And that was Jollo. He'll show up again much later in the game. For now, I believe we had something to discuss with Hakim.  I see the creepy old man has moved to this shop instead. Let's ignore him and instead abuse Hakim's hospitality by taking a free mint from the candy jar on his countertop. mint : The small green mint looks very tasty.: The mint might melt if Alexander held it too tightly. : Excuse me, merchant, but the ferryman mentioned that you might have a magic map of the Land of the Green Isles.: Why, as a matter of fact, I do! I keep it under the counter. It has been gathering dust so long, I nearly forgot about it.: It was quite a few years ago, you see. The estate of a wealthy wizard fell into my hands when he died. It was useless magical junk mostly--which reminds me, I've still got some things of his in the back that I need to dump out. Anyway, the magic map was the one true treasure in the lot. The wizard was quite old and feeble and had enchanted the map to aid in traveling.: It is said that one need only desire to be on an island depicted on the map to find oneself there. It is a very valuable map, as you can imagine. Unfortunately, no one is interested in traveling these days. It is far too dangerous with the current state of the kingdom.: What would you take for the map?: I would normally want something magic in return, but since I am hardly overrun with prospective buyers, I would be willing to take anything of equal value in exchange.Now that we've met Jollo, we don't have basically anything left to do with our ring for the rest of the game. Nothing time sensitive, at least. It's easily the most valuable thing we own, so hopefully it'll be enough.  : Would you be willing to take my family ring in exchange for the magic map?: Daventry... are you a king, then?: No, that's my father, King Graham. I'm just Alexander.: Well, Prince Alex, she is a beautiful ring. Are you sure you can part with such a unique family heirloom?: The ring does mean a lot to me. I didn't always have a family, you know. Still, it IS only gold. There are more important things at stake now.: Then you now own a magic map, Prince Alex. I will keep your ring out of sight for a few days. If you find anything else of great value in your travels, you can return for your ring. I would hate to see it melted down for the gold.: And a warning about the map; it will only operate when you are out in the open and within sight of the sea. The limitation has something to do with the teleport spell ingredients. You might try the beach.: That makes sense. I still sometimes think about a teleport stone I once made...: That's nice, Prince Alex. Perhaps you would like to go and try your map now? : Suddenly, the old man in the concealing cloak sneaks past Alexander and, with a sneaky dart of his hand, steals a mint from the candy jar. The old man stuffs the mint into his mouth and wobbles unsteadily out of the pawn shop.  King's Quest VI - Shamir Shamazel  : Master! *hic* I followed Prince Alexander as you *hic* wished. From the pawn shop owner he just obstained... uh... just reprieved *hic*... He just got a magic map. : You fool! You've been eating those mints again! I ordered you to stop that! : Yes, *hic* Master...: Now what is this about a magic map?: With the map, Prince Alexander can travel anywhere as bickly *hic* uh... quickly as I can.: What? I thought I took care of the only means of travel! By my scimitar, I can't have him stirring things up now! Get a hold of yourself and listen carefully, Shamir! Go to the other islands and tell them...If you never never went to the castle, there's an entirely different conversation here. : Master! I was 'obsermving' *hic* in the village as you wished, and I saw a manger... no, a danger... no, a STRANGER there! He says *hic* he's Prince Blamentander of Smaventry.: You fool! You've been eating those mints again! I ordered you to stop that!: Yes, *hic* Master...: Now WHO did this stranger say he was?: Prince Salamander of Pagentry, I *hic* think.: You idiot! Are you trying to tell me that Prince Alexander of Daventry is here?! Confound it! That's the young man Cassima met at Mordack's castle! The timing could not be worse. Tell me, what is he doing?: He was in the pawn shop buying a magic *hic* smap.: Magic smap? What is this magic smap?: With the smap he can travel to the other islands, Master.: That's a MAP, you dolt! Drat it all, I thought I took care of the only means of travel! By my scimitar, I can't have him stirring things up! Not now! Get a hold of yourself and listen carefully, Shamir! Go to the other islands and tell them...I'm not going to show every alternate dialogue scene, but that one was pretty funny. Shamir being blind drunk from mints is great.  And we're back here now. Presumably Alexander and Hakim stared at each other while Shamir ran home to Abdul.  : The magic map is made of thin leather, and has life-like drawings of the islands on its uneven surface.: Alexander remembers what the pawn shop owner said about only being able to use the map "out in the open" and "within sight of the sea." He correctly surmises that the map will not work here.: Though it possesses some magical capabilities, the map cannot talk. outside The peddler has moved on now that we have the map. He'll be gone for the vast majority of the game, and will only show up again toward the very end when we're ready to commit to an ending path. crossroads King's Quest VI - Song of the Nightingale **Recommended Listening** We're just passing through here, but now that we've befriended Jollo and got the magic map, this area has some background music. There's also the sound of a bird singing. If you look carefully, you can also see a little bird hanging out on top of a branch of the old oak. bird: A nightingale perches on a high branch of the tree. She sings the most beautiful song Alexander has ever heard. bird: Hello, nightingale! What a lovely tune you sing!: The nightingale only looks at Alexander suspiciously and continues to sing.She'll hang out here for the rest of the game. There are some optional points related to her, but otherwise she just gives this screen some nice music. Anyway, on to the beach! beach : Alexander pulls out his magic map. This is a good point to end this update on. NEXT TIME: we're going to the place you all voted for in that informal poll. Isle of the Sacred Mountain won with 9 votes. Second place was the Isle of Wonder with 5 votes. Finally, Isle of the Beast trailed with 3 votes. So that's the order we'll be visiting them in. List of Points +2 - Entered the ferry cabin +1 - Rabbit's foot +2 - Asked about spellbook +4 - Talked to Jollo +1 - Took mint +5 - Bought magic map +1 - Used magic map Total 28/231
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Nov 7, 2017 01:08
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Discendo Vox posted:What's the wanderer Derek joke? http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/Derek_Karlavaegen This guy is the author of the King's Quest Compendium, and has chronicled all the adventures of the Royal Family. He also lives in Manannan's house after it was left abandoned. He's also the author of the Guidebook to the Land of the Green Isles, which is needed for the copy protection in this game. ETA: Spoilers, obviously, under that link.
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Nov 7, 2017 23:34
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Because KQ6 is so large, I'm recording it in sections. Tonight I just did a huge chunk of the game and found a section that... well, take a look. Bad memories, man. Bad, bad memories.
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Nov 8, 2017 02:03
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Hello everyone and welcome back to King's Quest VI. You all voted for it, so here it is. big island on top: Alexander feels a strange pulling sensation. When you click on a map, you get to see a semi topographical view before you're taken there. The Isle of the Sacred Mountain is big enough that you can probably see it from any part of the Land of the Green Isles.   King's Quest VI can most easily be divided into halves at this island. Everything in the first half is to prepare you for the puzzles found up on the summit of this large mountain posing as an island. This is also where the game's copy protection resides. I have the answers handy, so I could  For now let's just look around the base of the sheer cliffs. Three things should have caught your eye here. Two are the items on either side of Alexander, while the third is the obvious writing behind him. flower: Alexander picks the flower and is startled by its hideously strong, skunk-like odor. For a moment, he can smell nothing else. feather: Alexander takes the feather. cliff writing: There appears to be something etched into the face of the cliff. Alexander decides to get closer. This is the aforementioned copy protection. Or, rather, it's the first of five sequential pieces of copy protection. The answers are all found in the game's manual, which doubles as a travel guide. I don't have it handy at the moment, but there are pages and pages of lore and worldbuilding in its pages. Honestly, I've never read any of it and I doubt I ever will. I've spent enough time in my life learning about the lore and the history of fake worlds.   The Isle of Wonder, like the Isle of the Sacred Mountain, is functionally a single screen for now. We can see paths off to the north, and there's another off to the east, but trying to leave by either triggers what I like to call the first of the "exam" puzzles. If you want to further break down King's Quest VI from the two halves I mentioned earlier, several of these puzzles nicely create discrete sections of the game. This is similar to the five major acts of King's Quest V: Desert, Forest/Serenia, Mountain, Beach, and finally Castle. The first exam puzzle happens here on this screen. I call it an "exam", because it require items from all over the explorable game world to solve a series of puzzles in quick succession. Passing the test opens more of the game for exploration, while failure just kills you outright. It's a more refined version of what they were trying with King's Quest V and the 600,000 dead man walking scenarios created by not having specific items. Anyway, we're still exploring for now. Here's the last screenshot again just as a reminder. Hassan mentioned in the last update that the Isle of Wonder is a very literal place, and that you need a good sense of humor. Well, that looks like a bunch of oysters... lying in beds. Get it? There's also a pink squiggle floating in the ocean. Let's see what that's all about. pink thing: A string of letters floats in the water. The letters spell out "Where are you going...?" Alexander's heard of alphabet soup, but this is ridiculous!I've always wanted to own a sentence. Let's grab it. sentence This is the edge of how far out Alexander can safely wade. The sentence is basically within arm's reach. But if you click on it again... sentence: Alexander wades deeper into the sea to get the strange object in the water. We've seen this song and dance before. Let's just rewind. oyster: One of the oysters is sitting up in bed and doesn't look very happy. He seems to be the only one who can't sleep. : In the oyster's mouth, Alexander can see a glint of white.Looks like someone has a pearl! Maybe we can help him with that. oyster: Why aren't you asleep like the other oysters? : I'm SO weary, but I can't sleep. I have a terrible ache in my mouth.: What's wrong with your mouth?: No offense, but it hurts too much to talk. oyster: Why don't you let me see if I can help?: No way! No one's looking in MY mouth! I HATE dentists.While we could fix his problem now, let's hold off for the time being. We're not done exploring yet.  After a little bit, the sentence finally drifts to shore. So we can finally grab that. sentence: Alexander picks up the object floating in the water. It appears to be a string of letters. They say "Where are you going...?" Alexander decides to keep the odd sentence, even though it is incomplete."Where are you going" is a complete sentence to everyone but pedants and 9th grade grammar teachers. I also realize that was a redundant statement. Let's just move on.  : Alexander is carrying an unusually large, black feather.: The feather feels very stiff and coarse. : Colors of flame burst from the center of the incredibly stinky flower and drip onto its petals. The flower's appearance is as flamboyant as its smell!: Alexander contemplates touching the flower, but doesn't want to get the flower's stench on his hands. : Alexander is carrying, oddly enough, a sentence. It says, "Where are you going...?": Alexander already has a pretty good grasp on his words.: The sentence seems to only have one thing to say, "Where are you going...?"In case you didn't catch that, the sentence says "Where are you going...?" Did you know that? I didn't. If only there were a way for the game to communicate that the sentence that says "Where are you going...?" in fact said "Where are you going...?" I guess we were just meant to intuit it somehow.  Off to the Isle of the Beast.  Nothing on the beach, but this is a really pretty island. north That lamp looks like something that the peddler would want. Unfortunately, we have a bubbly steamy pond between us and it. pond: A pond lies across the path. The water boils as if over some magical flame. pond : OUCH! THat water is HOT!I bet we can intimidate the pond. pond: Listen here, pond! I wish to pass!: The pond, rather hotheadedly, refuses to respond.I think that put it in its place. across pond: Alexander decides to brave the boiling pond. : And soon realizes a deep sympathy for soup vegetables as he learns the true meaning of "being in a stew." We can't do anything on the Isle of the Beast yet. So let's round out our tour of the Land of the Green Isles by returning to the Isle of the Crown.  We're going to finish preparing for the exam puzzle on the Isle of Wonder. So to that end, we need to get some poo poo from the pawn shop.  I believe you can also trigger this happening by leaving and returning to the village after buying the magic map. I've always done it like this, though... returning to the village later. Anyway, that was a not so subtle hint to dig through the pot. pot : Alexander sorts through the odds and ends that the pawn shop owner dumped into the pot. Magic exploding gum wrappers... A shattered crystal ball... A cracked wand... A fake thumb... Hmmm... Near the bottom, Alexander finds a little glass bottle labeled "ink." It appears to be empty, but Alexander decides to take it anyway. You never know when a small bottle will come in handy. : Alexander's carrying a little ink bottle. It appears to be empty.: Alexander shakes the bottle and imagines he hears a faint swishing sound, but decides he is mistaken.The bottle looks empty, though.  Let's investigate further. : Alexander decides to empty the ink bottle. Doing this in King's Quest V would probably result in a DMW. Still, having a bottle of invisible ink is good to know. Hopefully Alexander doesn't wind up looking like Eddie Valiant later with a giant ink blot on his chest. : Alexander examines the small bottle and determines that the invisible ink is, indeed, invisible.Next we're going to need one of those items from the pawn shop. If you think about the nature of many of the items we've been picking up recently, you can make an educated guess about what we're going to need. This puzzle still isn't great, though. There's a pretty good chance that you'll have to go and trigger the exam puzzle and fail it before you realize what's going on. The exam has a theme, you see. pawn shop: Good day, Prince Alexander!We've got a copper coin, and this is the closest thing to a shop in town. So let's see what Hakim'll give us for it. : I have this copper coin. Is it of any value to you at all? : Most interesting. I've never seen a Daventry coin before, but it is copper genuine enough. I might even find a buyer who is interested in foreign currency. The items on the front counter are the only things in the store that I can let go for the price of one copper. You may make your choice from there.: Alexander looks at the items on the counter to make his selection.Here's a refresher of what the four items are. I mentioned a few updates back that we'll be using all four throughout the course of the game, but right now we're interested in the mechanical nightingale. bird: That mechanical nightingale looks intriguing. I believe I'll take it.: Very well. Your coin is well spent. Remember, this is a pawn shop. I am always willing to take back my own goods in trade.: I'll remember. Thank you. : The mechanical nightingale is made of tin painted dreary shades of brown to match the coloring of a real nightingale. A small key emerges from its back.: The mechanical nightingale's hard tin body doesn't feel anything like a real bird's soft feathers. to the crossroadsLet's test out our new purchase. You may remember that after we spoke to Jollo, that a nightingale appeared here on this screen. Maybe she'll appreciate a tin counterpart. real nightingale: Alexander winds the mechanical nightingale and places it on the ground. : The mechanical nightingale sings a sweet, tinny tune. The real nightingale in the tree cocks her head and listens intently. The real nightingale flies to a lower branch and looks at Alexander curiously as if she were deciding that this human might not be so bad.Two-out-of-three real nightingales can't tell the difference! We also know that our mechanical bird works as advertised. Excellent. beachLet's end this update right where we started it. NEXT TIME: The first exam puzzle List of Points +1 - Skunkflower +1 - Black feather +1 - Taking a sentence +1 - Bottle of ink +2 - Bought a nightingale +4 - Befriended a real nightingale Total 38/231 Register of Deaths Drowning because Alexander can't bend at the waist Add Alexander to a rolling boil DoubleNegative fucked around with this message at 04:44 on Nov 11, 2017 |
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Nov 11, 2017 01:40
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MagusofStars posted:Also, your register of deaths for this update is missing boiling yourself like a lobster. Whoops! Good catch. I added that in. Also, some self promotion... https://lparchive.org/Kings-Quest-III/ was added to the archive last night.
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Nov 11, 2017 05:00
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sfwarlock posted:It's all nonsense up with which I will not put. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4XCZfkGF8k
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Nov 12, 2017 07:59
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 Hello everyone, and welcome back to King's Quest VI.  Before we trigger the exam puzzle, let's get some optional points by helping this oyster with his mouthache. : If you're having trouble sleeping, perhaps you'd like me to read to you.: Hey! That would be great! King's Quest VI - The Oyster This is a timed puzzle, similar to King's Quest V. You've only got 3 chances to pass it before the chance to do so is forever lost. Unlike the last game, all that you lose out on are a bunch of points and some alternate dialogue in the ending. But we're in this for full points. Also, it sucks to lie awake in bed because of pain. I know all too well what that feels like, so let's help this little fellow out. : Two dulcimas raised to the degree of forty halfdulcimas, divided into equal parts by the third of a cackle of grouse geese, put over the result of ten finemackels (albeit small finemackels), stretched over the total of fifty-three and an eighth bottles of wildebeast lard... You've got a few seconds to grab for the pearl when the oyster yawns. Like I said above, you get three chances, one for each break in this incredibly dry mathematics textbook. : ...yields a gilded minnow of precise measurements; two thousand sixty-nine centidrils by three million twenty-three and six-sevenths punds (NOT punts, as might be expected). This is not to say, however, in any sense, whatsoever, that deviations in mean temperature of five or six dregs or so...: ...indicate a fabrication or derivation sufficiently broad enough to exacerbate the conclusions uncovered, in due course, with regards to the dimensions, consistency, mass, or thickness inherent in the menial suckling grouse.Fail to grab the pearl and... : The poor little oyster falls into an uneasy sleep, though it's clear he is still not resting easy.But all you have to do is pearl in the short window available.: Alexander makes a grab for the pearl.: Hey! You fixed my mouth! It feels great! I... I...: Aww! The little oyster drifts into peaceful slumber with the rest of his oyster friends.  : The flawless pearl is the largest Alexander's ever seen.: Alexander turns the pearl slowly in his hand and sees its opaque white hue melt into iridescent colors.We'll put this pearl to good use in a bit. First, though, is the meat of today's update... the first exam puzzle. east: Alexander hears someone coming.King's Quest VI - The Gnome Guardians **Recommended Listening**   : Five fierce guards of the Isle we be!Watch for a foreign man, said he! With ears and nose, tongue, hands, and eyes. Its nature cannot be disguised. If man it be, then man it dies!   : Old Tom Trow, smell your smell.Do that which you do so well. The gimmick here is pretty obvious. Now if you think about the items we picked up in the past several updates, you can see why I got some of them. By the way, I'm going the extra length and showing off failures here.  You get about 15 seconds to solve each puzzle. That doesn't sound like a lot, but it's more than enough time.   : Alert, my brothers, as we feared!A man, a man, has landed here! : A man, a man, so say our nose!Into the waiting sea he goes!   I think our problem here is that they did reach a consensus. Alternatively, it's because Alexander's garlic habit has finally betrayed him. So we only have one item in our inventory that has anything to do with stench. So... : Alexander holds the flower of stench out to the gnome with the jumbo nose. : Tom Trow I am, that's all I'll be.My nose knows all on land and sea. A flower of stench has washed ashore. A flower, 'tis all, and nothing more!  : Listen! Hark you, Grovernor!Do your duty as you swore. With your ears, please tell us more.  Another 15 seconds...   : My ears can't miss that strong heartbeat!A man it is, a man we greet! : A man, a man, so say our ears!We shall send him to his bier! : Alexander winds the tin nightingale and plays it for the gnome with the monumental ears. Before I took a hatchet to it, this gif was almost 20 seconds long. Half of it was Alexander slowly winding the nightingale, and half was Grovernor dancing for way too long. : A nose is not a way to spy!My ears cannot be told a lie. A nightingale is all there be. No man is near, and so say me! These gnomes are also kinda dumb. I know he heard Alexander winding up the tin nightingale. There's no way he could have missed it with those airstrips attached to the side of his head.  : Taste, Grump-Frump, that we might know, whether friend or whether foe. Yikes.   I don't want to know what he tasted. He kinda licked the air in front of Alexander. Also get a load of his talking animation.  That's the sort of poo poo that's gonna haunt my darkest nightmares.: A man, a man, so say our tongue!To the Realm of the Dead we send this one! This one's pretty much a gimme, like Tom Trow before.  : Alexander holds the mint out for the gnome with the gigantic mouth. : Grump-Frump knows a tasty treat.It matters not what others bleat! No danger is this one so sweet!  : Trilly Dilly use your hands.Is it beast, or is it man?    : My hands know what the rest do not!A man is standing on this spot! : A man, a man, so say our hands!We act at the vizier's command! This one is not as immediately obvious as some of the others. You might think the feather would work, but apparently Trilly Dilly sees right through that. Pfft. Birds? On the Isle of Wonder? Who ever heard of that? Anyway... : Alexander holds the rabbit's foot out for the gnome with the huge hands. : Be all you mad? What aileth thee?A bunny can't trill merrily! A hare does not at all taste sweet! A rabbit here is all we greet.  : Old Bill Batter, never fatter,vision can resolve this matter. Look you now, and end this chatter!    : Of all the senses, eyes are best!A man, I say, and hang the rest! : A man, a man, so say our eyes!A man he be, a man he dies! This one I had trouble with as a kid. At first it was because I didn't find the solution. Then when I had it, I didn't realize it was what I needed. Because of the previous update, we know what the answer already is. We all saw that gif where Alexander splashed ink on his chest. When I was a kid I didn't realize you could interact with the inventory in that way. So I just had to try everything until it eventually worked. : Alexander pours the contents of the empty-looking ink bottle over himself. : By all that's beauteous, fair, and sightly,four morons do I sleep with nightly! There's NOTHING THERE AT ALL I say! Enough of this, let's now away!  : Alexander did it! He's fooled the guards!Just like that, one of the weirder puzzles in this very strange game is done. Just like this update is done. NEXT TIME: Let's explore the island. Starting with the eastern path. List of Points +2 - Read to Oyster +1 - Mother of Pearl +10 - Sense Gnomes Puzzle (+2 for each of the 5 gnomes) Total 51/231 Register of Deaths Alexander doesn't bathe Doki Doki A savage tongue lashing You got the touch! These deaths couldn't get any cornea
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Nov 14, 2017 06:29
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 19:34 |
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It's been almost a month since the last update, and in that time I haven't really felt the desire to continue, so I'm going to go ahead and call this finished here. I think completing 5 LPs in as many months finally caught up to me. That was, what, 3 and a half months of updates every other day, before I downgraded to "merely" three times a week. I hate that I fell off right as the only good one started, but what can you do? Thanks for reading this revisit of a stupid series. I'll probably continue this some day, but until then...
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Dec 10, 2017 14:34
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