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MYST Opportunities! Let's talk about First Person Adventures!
- Thread starter John
- Start date
John
(he/him)
I can't speak to specifics, but I remember Quern being on the more difficult side, even right out of the gate. I don't see a UHS Hint created for it unfortunately. Those are usually vague enough to put you on the right track, without completely spoiling it. It's another relic of a simpler time, because sometimes you don't need/want a full FAQ for your Game.
I did look for general hints, and saw that if you press the Alt key, it will make interactable objects glow. You can also turn that on globally in the settings. That could help with just figuring out what's possible. Good luck, and if you get stuck, don't fret, it'll be there the next time.
I had seen that in the controls/settings early on and completely forgotten about it. But that got me unstuck, because it highlighted that the telescope had two interaction points, one of which was a hook for the torch so you could shine focused light at certain targets (I swear I tried clicking all around, but whatever), which unlocked several of the next puzzles. After that I made my own way with only one hint (I had figured out a thing but hadn't assembled the other pieces of it to make it work).
I hit another roadblock eventually, after taking the boat and reaching the alchemy lab. There's what looks like a lot of complex interaction stuff here - various recipes with liquids and powders, and missing components to the machinery, but I'm relegated to a relatively small area and can't seem to have found everything I need. Plus I can already see there's going to be a lot of "mix this, take it here, pour it in, go back and mix another, take it there, pour it in" that's making my eyes roll back a little. But one step at a time, I guess?
John
(he/him)
The thing I love about puzzle games like these is the simmering gameplay. All the answers are (usually) there for you, it just may take a while for your brain to parse what the answers are. Sometimes you may take a break for a couple days, after which your mind had enough time to percolate on all the things in front of you, and you see what was there all along.
I recently solved one of the first major puzzles (to me) in RHEM, the first pump house. I had never moved beyond it in previous plays, so now I'm on to uncharted territory. I went through a bit of it, and found another pump house. Ah Knut, you certainly have a type.
Oh, and similar to the Das Tor der Minerva game, I've stumbled upon another potentially forgotten game from around that time. It's not a First Person Adventure game, so I may make another thread for it (if all the parts of it are still functioning). It seems to be more in the Interactive Fiction genre, but not? There's fiction, and some potential interacting. I'm just surprised that it's still around 23 years later, but it may take weeks to see it all? Okay, that should be enough teasing for now.
I recently solved one of the first major puzzles (to me) in RHEM, the first pump house. I had never moved beyond it in previous plays, so now I'm on to uncharted territory. I went through a bit of it, and found another pump house. Ah Knut, you certainly have a type.
Oh, and similar to the Das Tor der Minerva game, I've stumbled upon another potentially forgotten game from around that time. It's not a First Person Adventure game, so I may make another thread for it (if all the parts of it are still functioning). It seems to be more in the Interactive Fiction genre, but not? There's fiction, and some potential interacting. I'm just surprised that it's still around 23 years later, but it may take weeks to see it all? Okay, that should be enough teasing for now.
John
(he/him)
I made the new thread for my other archaeological find, Planetarium! Check it out if it seems interesting.
What else would you've played on 9/9/99? Let's play Planetarium!
Back on 9/9/99, there were a couple minor releases in the Video Game world. Sure, Final Fantasy dropped a game, and Sega released their hardware swan song, but I bet you didn't know a little web game called Planetarium also came out that day? Unlike Squaresoft and Sega, Planetarium is in exactly...
talking-time.net
John
(he/him)
RHEM Update: I'm still moving through this weird world. I've found 1 of 4 pieces of a letter that apparently may unlock my way off this... island? Archipelago? Prison? It's not quite clear. The biggest challenge I've found so far is still navigation, because all these different paths overlap visually, but can only be accessed through their own means. I've spent enough time with the central hub that I've got that navigation pretty well down pat, but it still takes forever. If your avatar could just hop a 3 foot fence to the other side, it would make things much easier.
I've now gotten to another huge area that appears to be reminiscent of the Selenitic Age in MYST, the one with antennas and sound. Instead of only 5 or so stations, there's at least a dozen, and I haven't figured out quite how to work them yet. So far, I haven't had a session yet where I didn't make progress, though just today I had the "aha" moment of figuring out something after sleeping on it. Sometimes you just need a change in perspective, which was literally what I needed for this specific puzzle.
I've now gotten to another huge area that appears to be reminiscent of the Selenitic Age in MYST, the one with antennas and sound. Instead of only 5 or so stations, there's at least a dozen, and I haven't figured out quite how to work them yet. So far, I haven't had a session yet where I didn't make progress, though just today I had the "aha" moment of figuring out something after sleeping on it. Sometimes you just need a change in perspective, which was literally what I needed for this specific puzzle.
John
(he/him)
Breaking from my RHEM updates to bring you all good news! You can pay $10 at Humble to get all the pre-2021 versions of MYST and its sequels that you might not have, plus Obduction, and the pre-MYST games Manhole, Cosmic Osmo, and Spelunx. You also get a $10 off coupon for the new version, making it $20 if you buy through the Humble store. Get your Myst on!
www.humblebundle.com
I haven't had a ton of time for RHEM recently, but I have completed the one big area that I came to, got one more page, and am now, well, I don't want to say stuck, but I don't have a clear direction yet. The last session, I took the time to detail out everything that is unknown to me, which is a lot, because this game is a lot. I've got panels that I don't quite know what to do with, a weird portrait with numbers, some elevators, etc. It helped me winnow out what may be relevant, and where I should go next. I think I've got a plan, it's just actually getting there is the issue, because just navigating RHEM is a puzzle in itself.
Myst & More Bundle
Our newest bundle features a collection of Myst games and more graphic adventures! Get games like realMyst: Masterpiece Edition and Obduction. Plus, pay what you want & support charity!
www.humblebundle.com
I haven't had a ton of time for RHEM recently, but I have completed the one big area that I came to, got one more page, and am now, well, I don't want to say stuck, but I don't have a clear direction yet. The last session, I took the time to detail out everything that is unknown to me, which is a lot, because this game is a lot. I've got panels that I don't quite know what to do with, a weird portrait with numbers, some elevators, etc. It helped me winnow out what may be relevant, and where I should go next. I think I've got a plan, it's just actually getting there is the issue, because just navigating RHEM is a puzzle in itself.
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John
(he/him)
I just watched this trailer for upcoming point & click adventure game Neyyah. It's billed as created by a single person, Aaron Gwynaire, and got a publishing deal through Microprose.
This looks to come from an alternate reality where Riven was a gigantic hit, and inspired where game design would go. I don't think I've seen a game mirror the Riven aesthetics so closely, especially not in 2022. It looks like the game is internally rendered in full 3D, but follows the 2D slideshow model of Myst 1-4. I'll be following this, though there's no word on release dates.
This looks to come from an alternate reality where Riven was a gigantic hit, and inspired where game design would go. I don't think I've seen a game mirror the Riven aesthetics so closely, especially not in 2022. It looks like the game is internally rendered in full 3D, but follows the 2D slideshow model of Myst 1-4. I'll be following this, though there's no word on release dates.
Hey, I made a mental note to reply to this, and it only just fired off. Someone did a MOO remake -- it's to MOO what Xenonauts is to X-Com, if that makes sense.
I'm not familiar with MOO, so if this game is awesome, please start a thread for it.
This game is awesome. It's a 4x take that I've never seen articulated quite as well anywhere else. Very interesting streamlining.
Edit: Also the remake looks like some nice QoL improvements; I'll definitely check it out!
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John
(he/him)
I saw a recommendation for Platonic on the inimitable Zarf's blog, and decided to pick it up. It's a Myst-ish game, but more directly puzzle based. Sparse graphics but they get the job done. It evokes a low-poly The Witness, but plays more like a straight puzzler. I'm through 2.5 of the 5 levels, and the first two are pretty easy, but it appears to be ramping up a bit. I was going to knock it because the second level has a sliding block puzzle, but it used it in a different way than just needing to solve it.
Pick this up and support an indie dev. I can't find any info about the actual developer, and haven't beat it to see the credits, but this is probably a single person or very small team.
Pick this up and support an indie dev. I can't find any info about the actual developer, and haven't beat it to see the credits, but this is probably a single person or very small team.
Did he ever make another game after Hadean Lands?
Speaking of Hadean Lands, I recently finished a blind co-op playthrough of that (informal; one person driving and streaming via Discord with a shared Google doc for ideas) with a few other tyrants and it was a really fun time! (Although the ending was kind of disappointing.) We never got so stuck that we had to look anything up, but we certainly got close a few times! I think we probably spent like 30 hours total on it?
It's real good which is what makes me wish he made more.
John
(he/him)
Played a bit more of this, and it's opening up nicely. It does that iteration thing that things like The Witness do, where you learn one concept, and then tweak it a little bit and use it somewhere else. You don't have to solve thousands of line puzzles either, or listen to libertarian nonsense screeds, so that's a bonus.
I thought I was halfway through, but I think I was closer to a fourth, and once I unlocked more stuff it made more sense (as much sense as an abstract 3d puzzle game about manipulating switches, dials, and buttons can make).
Oh, and not a spoiler because this comes up early, but I had to do a double take to make sure that this wasn't Loss.
John
(he/him)
Quern: Undying Thoughts is $5 over at GoG, and is absolutely worth it, as we talked about earlier in the thread.
John
(he/him)
Riven: the Sequel to MYST is finally getting a remake! Cyan's not just upscaling the 2D assets, but are remaking it in full 3D. They secretly met with the Starry Expanse fan group who were making their own version, and told them to cut it out, but nicely. They used their assets as a starting point, and hired one of the group to work on it. I'm excited to see how they'll rework the game to fit a different camera, plus any new things that eventually get made. Curious how the FMV will fit in as well, since that was more organically integrated than in Myst.
I'm using this as an opportunity to try Obduction again, a game that I've gotten pretty far in but never beat. I'm still farting around Hunrath, and switched from the Steam Deck to my desktop because things like reading notes and books was pretty hard on the screen, plus it's surprisingly a resource hog, spins the fan up something fierce. I still love the aesthetic they used for the alien parts of Hunrath mixed with Earth (and maybe the Zork empire), and the puzzle progression's great. I thought it fell down once I traveled to other worlds, but we'll see if my opinion's changed in the few years since I played it.
I'm using this as an opportunity to try Obduction again, a game that I've gotten pretty far in but never beat. I'm still farting around Hunrath, and switched from the Steam Deck to my desktop because things like reading notes and books was pretty hard on the screen, plus it's surprisingly a resource hog, spins the fan up something fierce. I still love the aesthetic they used for the alien parts of Hunrath mixed with Earth (and maybe the Zork empire), and the puzzle progression's great. I thought it fell down once I traveled to other worlds, but we'll see if my opinion's changed in the few years since I played it.
Or, to reflect historical developments since Riven was originally released, “Riven: The Remake of One of the Sequels to Myst.”
folks I am so excited for this remake you don’t even know
Anyone here ever play Rama? Sierra On-line's attempt to get in on the first person adventure game craze?
John
(he/him)
I haven't, but always was curious. It looked more Daedalus Encounter than Myst though, more FMV than puzzles.
Another game that I "acquired" a copy of on some warez site years after publication was Segasoft/Rocket Science Games's Obsidian. Its marketing ads were trying to be David Lynch+URNOTREDE pure 90's, which the game couldn't live up to. It was never rereleased on modern stores, possibly because Rocket Science went under a long time ago, and rights could be in limbo.
Daedalus and Rama are included in the RetroeXo's eXoDOS collection, but unfortunately Obsidian was a Windows game. I recommend everyone with the network bandwidth and hard drive space to grab one of their collections. They've got a new Apple IIGS collection that I'm adding to my queue now.
Another game that I "acquired" a copy of on some warez site years after publication was Segasoft/Rocket Science Games's Obsidian. Its marketing ads were trying to be David Lynch+URNOTREDE pure 90's, which the game couldn't live up to. It was never rereleased on modern stores, possibly because Rocket Science went under a long time ago, and rights could be in limbo.
Daedalus and Rama are included in the RetroeXo's eXoDOS collection, but unfortunately Obsidian was a Windows game. I recommend everyone with the network bandwidth and hard drive space to grab one of their collections. They've got a new Apple IIGS collection that I'm adding to my queue now.
I was reading a lot of Arthur C. Clarke at the time Rama came out, and I was a Myst super fan, so I very much wanted to play it. Never got the chance, though. I wonder how it holds up these days.
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conchobhar
What's Shenmue?
Glad to see the Riven remake get announced. I remember Cyan said a while back that their goal with the Myst re-remake was to follow it with a Riven remake and then a brand-new Myst sequel, so it's great to see everything going to plan. I'm actually not a big fan of Riven, but I'm curious about the remake, because I suspect the full 3D environs will make it a lot more comprehensible.
Does Shivers count as one of these games?
John
(he/him)
Absolutely! I never got far in that one because I had bought a used copy in the early 00’s, and had issues running it on W2K. I’ve since bought it on GoG, and SCUMMVM/DosBox are much better.
I just loaded up the GoG version onto my Steam Deck, which had no issues being double interpreted/emulated (DosBox being run by Proton on top of Linux). It’s still an ugly game, but has its charm. Maybe I’ll actually get into the museum this time!
I just loaded up the GoG version onto my Steam Deck, which had no issues being double interpreted/emulated (DosBox being run by Proton on top of Linux). It’s still an ugly game, but has its charm. Maybe I’ll actually get into the museum this time!
John
(he/him)
I've been out of the First Person Adventure bubble for a little bit, but I just saw something that may get me back in for a while.
www.scummvm.org
The latest ScummVM version now supports Segasoft/Rocket Science Games's Obsidian, a myst-like that spent all its money on the marketing campaign, including a commercial that tried extremely hard to be David Lynch.
From my memory, the game itself wasn't great, but the marketing was right out of Sony's handbook. It didn't sell, and was a major factor in Segasoft folding as a publisher. I will still be poking around with it once I find the time.
ScummVM
ScummVM is a collection of game engines for playing classic graphical RPGs and point-and-click adventure games on modern hardware.
www.scummvm.org
The latest ScummVM version now supports Segasoft/Rocket Science Games's Obsidian, a myst-like that spent all its money on the marketing campaign, including a commercial that tried extremely hard to be David Lynch.
From my memory, the game itself wasn't great, but the marketing was right out of Sony's handbook. It didn't sell, and was a major factor in Segasoft folding as a publisher. I will still be poking around with it once I find the time.
Cyan, the original kings of the genre who brought us Myst, Riven, and Obduction, have finally announced a release date for their next game. It’s called Firmament, it’s coming out on May 18th, and oh man is it pretty. Take a look!
The game is VR compatible for those who have the necessary hardware, but will also work just fine for flat-screen-only plebs like me. It’s also apparently coming to PS5 and PSVR later on.
The game is VR compatible for those who have the necessary hardware, but will also work just fine for flat-screen-only plebs like me. It’s also apparently coming to PS5 and PSVR later on.
John
(he/him)
Firmament's almost here, and was confirmed to be Steam Deck Verified in the latest Kickstarter update. I personally am going to wait until the PS4/5 version comes out, because our PSVR2 needs some love. Still no ETA on that port, which tells me it's still early, and will probably not be optimal, but I want to try it in VR anyway.