Merciful 1/Merciful - Disc 1.iso/software/s/space_quest/space_quest_solution.txt

Text File | 1995-10-14 | 10.9 KB | 203 lines

                      SPACE QUEST SOLUTION



PART 1

ARCADA TO CRASHDOWN
 Well now you're in for it. Your latest siesta in the Arcada's
janitorial closet has been rudely interrupted by a Sarien invasion.
Alarm bells are sounding, emergency lights are flashing and the blasted
bodies of your shipmates are lying all over the place. How are you going
to avoid joining them and survive this adventure?

 First of all, if we're going to get you out of this in one piece, we
need to establish a few conventions. In SPACE QUEST, as in all of
Sierra's animated adventures, you move from location to location and
manipulate objects by moving your on-screen character with either a
joystick or the cursor control keys on your keyboard. For SPACE QUEST, I
strongly recommend using a joystick. There are a couple of arcade
sequences in the game, at least one of which is made much easier by
using a joystick. To move from location to location you move your
character offscreen in the desired direction. For purposes of this
walkthru, "north" means to move your character offscreen toward the top
or back of the screen, "south" means to move toward the bottom or
foreground, "east" means to move offscreen to the right, and "west"
means to move to the left.

 Okay, how are you going to avoid the Sarien troops that seem to be
everywhere and shoot first and ask questions later? Well, whenever you
hear footsteps, find somewhere to hide -- pronto! Elevators work very
well for this purpose. And take advantage of the improved save and
restore features of this game; they can make death a very temporary
condition.

 Now the coast seems to be clear for the moment and you're standing in
the corridor in front of the janitor's closet. Go west through the door
into the Data Archive. A quick look around reveals a wall full of data
cartridges and a computer console. Examining the computer console shows
that it consists of a screen, a keyboard, a cartridge slot, and a
cartridge retrieval unit. The screen is asking you to type in the title
of a cartridge, but you can't punch up the catalogue because you lack
the proper security clearance.

 Just as you're beginning to despair over this situation, a man that you
recognize as a lab scientist stumbles into the room and collapses on the
floor. He's obviously fatally wounded, but you try to help him as best
you can. His strength fading fast, the scientist tells you that the
Sariens are after the Star Generator and that you'd better get out fast
if you want to save yourself. With his dying breath, he looks at the
wall full of data cartridges and utters "astral body."

 There's no time for mourning now. Taking the hint, you walk over to the
keyboard and type in "astral body." Sure enough the retrieval unit
climbs the shelves and returns with a cartridge. Take the cartridge from
the unit, but don't try to read it here! Any attempt to read the
cartridge at this location will bring the game to a very abrupt end.
Better hold on to the cartridge until you can find a safer terminal.

 It's time to move on, so go west into the corridor and west again to
the far wall of the hallway. Here is yet another fallen shipmate. Well,
maybe the poor guy has something useful that he won't be needing
anymore. Indeed he does, for a quick search of his body uncovers a
keycard; just the thing for opening doors to secured areas of the ship.

 Pocket the keycard and go east and take the elevator down one level.
Walk north through the blasted-out door into the Star Generator lab.
Here your worst fears are realized. The Star Generator is gone! The
Sariens have already removed it from the ship. What's more, a look at
the computer screen at the north end of the room shows that the
automatic detonators have been set, and there's just minutes to go until
the Arcada blows itself up. No wonder that dying scientist told you to
get out fast!

 There's no time to lose, so exit the room to the south, go east and
take the elevator down to the lower level of the Arcada. Walk east into
the central control area of the ship. A look through the window reveals
the empty docking bay. Just beneath the window is a control panel with
two buttons on it. Press the button marked "open bay door" and watch the
docking bay doors slide open.

 Now walk east to the elevator at the far end of this level. Hmm, this
elevator doesn't open automatically like all the others on the Arcada.
Aha! There's a security panel next to the elevator with a slot for a
keycard. Now the elevator opens obediently. So ride it down to the
flight prep room on the lowest level of the ship.

 The first thing you notice in the flight prep room is a closet with a
button for each of its two doors. Push both buttons and take the gadget
from the closet on the left and the flight suit from the closet on the
right. A quick look at the gadget reveals that it's a dialect
translator. Might come in handy later. Now, however, we need to find a
way out of here. It looks like there's a control panel in the front of
the room, so walk around the barrier and have a look at it. Thankfully,
there's a button on the panel marked "airlock." Press it and the door on
the west side of the room slides open.

 Exit the room through the open airlock and walk out into the docking
bay. You notice that the bay is empty and that there's a large hole in
the middle of the floor. However, there is also a control console
standing next to the airlock. Amid all the unfamiliar controls on the
console is a button marked "platform." Press the button and an escape
pod rises from the hole in the floor! Walk around the pod to the open
door on its left side and get in. You're almost out of here!

 Once seated in the pod, the first thing to do is close the door. Now
take a look around the pod. You see seat belts and a dark console.
Buckle up the seat belt then have a look at the console. Push the button
marked "power" and the console springs to life. The screen tells you to
pull the throttle to initiate the launch sequence. So give it a tug and
you're off!

 Whew! You've made it safely off the Arcada, but now your pod is
drifting helplessly in space. What to do? (For a laugh you can press the
button marked "don't touch;" just make sure you save the game first!)
Look at the panel again. There's a button there labeled "autonav." Try
pushing it. That did it! The pod's navigation system is locked onto the
planet Kerona, and the automatic landing sequence has started. There's
nothing to do now but sit back and enjoy the ride.

 Congratulations! You've crash-landed on a desolate, desert planet.
Aren't you glad?

PART 2

SPIDER DROIDS, ORATS AND THE UNDERGROUND EMPIRE
 Okay, so here you are sitting in a wrecked escape pod in the middle of
a burning desert. Well, at least you're still in one piece. And a look
around the pod reveals that a survival kit has broken loose from
somewhere. That could sure come in handy, so take the kit and have a
look inside. You find a handy-dandy jack-knife and a can of dehydrated
(?) water. Dehydrated water is a strange concept, to say the least, so
take a close look at the can. The label says that you cawhget a drink of
water any time you need it by simply putting the nozzle in your mouth
and drinking. It also says that the can is highly pressurized and that
puncturing it can have catastrophic consequences. Those sound like two
pieces of information to remember.

 Now you're as ready as you'll ever be to leave the pod, so go ahead and
get out. Before you leave the area, however, walk around to the front of
the pod and have a look at it. You never know when you'll need a piece
of reflective glass, so take it.

 If you try going in any other direction, you'll soon discover that the
directions that you can go without getting eaten or flattened by a
meteor are east and southeast. So go southeast to the area described as
the "southwest edge of a mesa." Exit the screen at the southeast corner.

 Take a look around and note the natural land bridge to the north.
Again, exit the screen at the southeast corner. Notice the ramp on the
west side of the screen. Walk up it and follow it until you exit the
screen to the north. Then follow the trail around to the west.

 About now the spider droid will appear. Don't worry, this is one nasty
you can dispatch with a bang! Walk across the bridge to the large
boulder. Position yourself behind the boulder and type in "push boulder"
without hitting <Return> or <Enter>. This is a good place to save the
game! Wait until the spider droid is directly under the boulder (it's
the spot exactly between the two green patches on the ground). Now hit
<Return> or <Enter>. Kaboom! Wasn't that fun? (Read on for an alternate
way to kill the spider droid, but for less points.)

 Let's see what else this mesa has to offer. Exit the screen to the west
and follow the trail around several screens until you arrive at the
broken arch at the mesa's far eastern edge. What's this all about? Well
step between the two columns of the arch and...Whoa! Talk about the
first step being a doozie! Nothing to do now but ride this elevator
straight to the bottom.

 Once you arrive at the bottom of the shaft and recover your stomach,
step off the platform and look around. That rock might prove useful, so
take it. Follow the cavern to the west. That grate looks and smells
dangerous. Better edge around the back of it. Aieee! It's a good thing
you didn't step on top of that grate!

 Looks like you've come to the end of the trail, doesn't it? But if you
take a careful look around, you'll notice that the rock will just cover
the hole on top of that steam vent. So put the rock there and shades of
"open sesame!" Exit the screen to the northwest. The pool room is
pretty, but there's not much you can do in here, so walk around the
rocks and again exit the screen to the northwest. Hey! Those light beams
could just make you go all to pieces! So hold that piece of reflective
glass in the beams and put the heat on them. Now walk up the ramp and
exit the screen to the east.

 Save the game! Those aren't water drops dripping from the ceiling;
they're deadly corrosive acid. One false step here and you're fried.
Time your walk between the drops carefully and exit the screen to the
east. Now take a look at the gadget that you took from the closet back
on the Arcada. Notice that it's a dialect translator and that there's a
dial on it. Turn the dial until the gadget glows and exit the screen to
the east.

 And you thought the Wizard of Oz was tough on Dorothy! If you've
already had the misfortune to stumble into Orat, you know that stealing
the Wicked Witch's broomstick was child's play compared to collecting a
piece of this baby's hide. I mean he looks like Tyrannosaurus Rex with
teeth to match, and he seems to enjoy playing basketball with human
beings taking the part of the ball. But a piece of Orat's hide is just
what this Alien is telling you that you'll have to bring him if you want
his help in getting off this dustbin of a planet. Yours is not to
reason, so once you're transported back to the surface, follow the mesa
trail back across the bridge and down the ramp.