Who better to clean up space than Janitors? Space Quest I, II, III

the Orat cave is south of the elevator east of it would be empty desert. I'll check this evening

Hmm... an underground cave system... I'll just pick up that rock there and make my way to the left



Nothing here either... Guess I'll just keep walking...



I guess, that wasn't a good idea... maybe if I hug that wall?



and then put that rock I found on the little geyser (that makes total sense) which opens a door behind me and move on:



You can't see it in the shot but on the path above there is a liquid dripping down... considering this is a Sierra game, I'm confident in saying that touching them would probably kill you... as would that purple pool of liquid to Roger's right:



It isn't clear from the screen or in the game how you're suppose to get to the next screen here, but you have to move through the rock formations until you walk behind them and into the next scene:



If we had failed to pick up the glass shard at the wreck site, we'd be screwed again. There's no way to get back to the surface to get it. We have it though and use it to destroy the system:



Moving onward we carefully pass through the dripping acid (another death), a little hint for those playing at home, anytime you're faced with arcade elements in a Sierra Adventure you should move the speed down to slow. Now we're on the upper path above the tentacled horror hiding grill:



and we end up in an absolutely dark room:

If we hadn't picked up the gadget (on the Arcade) and turned it on, that whole conversation would have been gibberish and the first time player effectively stuck.

...and with that we're kicked back to the surface on the outcrop just west of the rock bridge, crossing it again makes the cracks expand. Also another Spider Droid will drop down as well. If you wanted to you could use the big rock there on the bridge to crush the droid, but I have other plans for the droid. So we make your way down to the ground and then avoiding, the droid make your way to Orat's cave which is right there on the lefthand side of the screen (I don't know what happened to all my screen captures of this event.) Make sure the spider droid is close behind you, though as you enter the cave, once there hide behind the rocks and watch the fireworks:



Don't forget to pick up proof of your deed:



An alternative to killing Orat with the droid is tossing the dehydrated water at him, which he swallos whole... and then explodes... either way nets you the same amount of points (same with eliminating the droid.)

In an alternate universe where the droid wasn't following us and we thought Orat was merely lonely for companionship:


Now we have to make our way back to the elevator and through the cave again (the only hassle here is avoiding the dripping acid, again) to present our "trophy" to the giant alien head:


We head through the door and into our future!

Deaths added: 5
items added: 2

Next: Part III, Ulence Flats: Not quite the most wretched hive of scum and villainy (also the worst parts of the game!)

Playing with the Tentacled monster:



Playing in the Pool:



Playing with High Energy Lasers:



Singing in the (Acid) Rain:



Meeting Orat:

This format is just right. Which may have been your intention all along.

Didn't the dehydrated water show up in a later game, maybe just as a reference? I'm sure I didn't play this one but it sounds familiar.

I did, however, play Police Quest 1 and that is just hilarious with this graphical style. Some brilliant fellow made a t-shirt over at Threadless in almost exactly the same style.

I don't recall it coming up in later games... but it might have, I love that shirt though!

Speaking of dehydrated water:

Shouldn't that be de-oxidized water? I mean to dehydrate, taken literally, means you remove the hydrogen from it. The joke doesn't really work that way, but it sounds pretty silly to call it "dehydrated water" when all it is is a canister of hydrogen.

Oh? It actually works? I thought it was a joke item. Haha! Dehydrated water, just add water! If it showed up again it was just played for laughs and a wink either on a billboard or a vending machine or just sitting around and not obtainable. I could be imagining the whole thing too.

Yup, and you use it to kill Orat if you can't manage to get the droid to do it for you

The last dehydrated water screenshot almost feels like a reference to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but that's probably just a side effect of my fanboyism.

I think it might be, although Space Quest (particularly the manual) takes a lot of inspiration from HHGG.

Update coming tomorrow, I've been dealing with medical issues. Which if you really care you can find out about in the random discontent thread

Having never played a Sierra game, this is fantastic. How exactly does one dodge the droid though? Do you just keep 1 or 2 steps ahead of it?

It doesn't move that fast, so you've just got to avoid colliding with it, and when you leave the screen you have a few seconds on the next screen before it wanders in.

I wish someone had an animated GIF to show just how funny the walking animation was in these early Sierra games.

Walking into the odd shaped door Roger finds himself in a room with a decidedly steam punk aesthetic. Also a helpful alien talk a lot:



Fascinating, What's that a computer? Cool, does it have Solitaire? No, huh:



Oh, hey! Remember that cartridge we picked up so long ago on the Arcada? I wonder if we can use it here, let's just plug that into the slot there (wow the future uses cartridges! How quaint?) Text? Damn the future stinks:



Hmm... Okay well, I'll try to remember all that!

Well, that seems all there is to do here, let's blow this proverbial "Popsicle stand"...

wait better make sure to grab the cartridge out the computer, now let's check out our sweet ride:



(a key?! Jeez, the future seems a lot like the late 1980s...) Well, Roger hops on this skimmer, revs the engine and move off toward the pink horizon:



So, begins the only arcade sequence in the game, the skimmer trip to Ulence... Again, it is recommended to turn the game's speed to slow, so that you have time to get out of the way of the rocks in your way, if you hit more than four rocks you'll find yourself loading your saved game:



Didn't quite make it on the first run:



My next attempt was more successful, but still just barely making it to Ulence Flats:



Look How friendly people are! I just showed up and I already have a friend!:



"Yeah right, this classic Falton is worth way more than that! Get lost!"

That guy looked shady so Roger makes sure to take the keys out of the ignition before exploring scenic Ulence Flats!

Let's see how many ways could we have screwed up here? If we had taken off on the skimmer without reading the cartridge we could get all the way to the end of the game and be stuck! If we sold the skimmer to that guy for 30 buckazoids, we could get to the Sarien ship but not be able to board it, also if we had left the keys in the ignition, we'd be SOL as well, with no initial money which we need to get through this section of the game.

Next time: A tour of Ulence Flats, gambling is SOOOOO much fun, and getting off this stinking rock!

Ulence Flats looks awfully familiar. Almost like I've seen in in another, later Space Quest game, one centered around time travel. Probably a coincidence.

Is... is that a fart joke?

I've never got the name... fart joke or reference to something else...

Read the name in reverse order. Then you might see it.

I always thought something smelled off about it.

I can't believe I never saw that before...

Since Roger is new to the town he might has well take a walk around and check things out:



Ok, so we've toured this little slice of "culture" on Kerona and are back where we started! Hey our new friend is back!



A jetpack?! That's an offer I can't refuse! But, now were stuck here with only 30 bucks and no idea what to do... might as well go into this building, a bar! Roger feels dangerous and cooler already:



Sadly though no want seems to want to talk to Roger... Nothing gets Mr. Wilco janitor extraordinaire down! so, Roger stands around and listens to the three music sets:



Listen here



As heard here



Sounds like

"Sounds Retro..." Roger thought, before realizing that the slot machine had just opened up... Funny he didn't remember seeing the guy leave... nothing here but a pile of dust, oh well let's play slots!



Playing the slot machines, is the worst part of Space Quest 1 and there's no way of avoiding them either (unlike in the re-make). We start with 30 buckazoids (and a saved game) and are trying to get enough to buy that fancy spaceship we saw in our tour (the one by itself) and a droid to fly it, maybe with a little left over for some incidentals... Getting cherries is fine, but in order to win big we'll need to get eyeballs or diamonds, getting skulls will mean game over:



You guys can browse some of the other topics here on Talking Time while I grind to get 250 buckazoids out of this thing... maybe I can beat my record and only need to reload 3 times!

You know, only Sierra would have the gall to make a slot machine KILL YOU if you got the wrong line-up.

...Oh wait, Joker Death in FF6 AND 7 does that too, huh?

Which just begs the question: who designs a slot machine that kills you? Seems like that'd lead to some serious litigation and lawsuits...

Here yes, but in SPACE everything is different... besides they had to pad the game time somehow

Well I didn't get lucky and beat my old record but I did manage to get enough of these two to break the machine:



Now that we have all this money let's go spend it! Oh another friend? He wants to help us? Wow, everyone on this planet is so nice:




Dammit, back to the Slot machine...(or my last saved game)

If I hadn't of listened our mugging friend would have followed up on his threat:



Ok, I've got 250 dollars again and this time I'm not going to follow strange aliens into back alleys...

To Droids B' Us (which was originally Droids R' Us but Sierra faced a lawsuit and had to change it...) to pick up a mechanical friend, all the fleshy ones here seem intent on ripping us off:



I probably am interested in your sale items, but I still want to browse, thank you!

These robots really look amazing, and I'm loaded I'm sure I can afford one of them:



Or, not... Fine, let me look at the sales items:



"It's green? That's my favorite color I'll take it!"



I just bought this thing!? That alien seemed friendly, I'm sure I can get a refund:




Dammit! ...but after a short detour to the Bar and the cursed slot machine, I'm back to buy the correct droid this time:



Now that, that's squared away time to pick up a ship!

Pinky's is known all across the galaxy for their used spaceships sales, and Roger is just lucky enough to find them here on Kerona:



Show me your wares, Giant disgusting space alien!



Nope



Nope again



Yes Please!



I've already got one! Okay now that I have a ship and droid to pilot it, where am I supposed to go?

Maybe those unfriendly folks in the bar know? But no one likes me! Guess I'll use these coupons and drown my loneliness in alcohol:




As Roger quietly intoxicates himself he overhears other patrons conversations:



Sector HH it is! Let's get out of here!

Next time: Part 4: First, the Deltour. Then, Glory!

P.S. The coupons mentioned were included in the original boxed versions of the game...

I added to my inventory:



Roger could buy the wrong ship:



or:



Roger can get drunk:



and after stumbling around for an indeterminate amount of time, Roger makes his way outside: