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- DEADLINE
- Part One
-
- Here is the solution for solving Infocom's mystery game, Deadline.
- All commands which should be typed in exactly as you see them are
- in quotes. Directional movements are in brackets. E.g., "OPEN DOOR"
- and [N,N,E].
-
- Robin Hood did an excellent job of explaining the solution, but
- because of typos or perhaps because of different versions of
- Deadline, it didn't work on my copy. So, the corrections are
- attributable to me, Tamerlane of the Ring.
-
- From the front path of the Robner's estate, go [N] to the front
- door of the house. Type "OPEN DOOR" and go [N] into the Robners'
- house. From inside the door, go [N,E] and type "CLIMB STAIRS" twice
- (or you can just go [U,U]) to get to the second level of the
- estate. From there, go [W,W,W,W,N] to the library where you will
- start the first of a series of Sherlock Holmes-type activities.
-
- In Deadline, you need to establish the motive and method for the
- murder beyond all reasonable doubt before you can arrest the guilty
- party. If you don't have an air-tight case, the jury will acquit
- the defendant. It is here in the library where we go about
- establishing the method by which poor Mr. Robner was done in.
-
- First off, type "EXAMINE RUG" (or just "LOOK RUG"). You will find
- some mud spots which is your first clue. Now, "GET THE CUP, PAD,
- CALENDAR AND PENCIL" and "RUB PENCIL ON PAD" and then "TURN PAGE OF
- CALENDAR." Aha! Perhaps a clue as to the motive? Let's see if we
- can substantiate the method a little more...that mud on the rug was
- very interesting. Type "OPEN BALCONY DOOR" and go [N] onto the
- balcony. Check out the railing by typing "EXAMINE RAILING" and you
- will see some scratches, lending credence to the theory that
- perhaps the murderer climbed up the balcony from the ground below
- where he (or she) got mud on his shoes. Let's have a look below and
- check for some indication that the murderer was indeed below the
- balcony.
-
- DEADLINE
- Part Two
-
- To leave the balcony, go [S,S,E,E,E,E,D,D,W,S]. Type "OPEN DOOR"
- and go [S] back to the front door. Now go [E,E,SE] to the shed
- where you will see a ladder. Type "EXAMINE LADDER."
-
- Hmmm! This ladder-and-balcony theory is looking good! Let's see if
- we can prove the ladder was below the balcony. This will have to
- wait a while, though, because it's getting late in the morning and
- we have to do some more checking in the house before the reading of
- the will takes place. And besides that, we need to talk to Mr.
- McNabb and he doesn't seem to be in the mood right now.
-
- Go back to the house by heading [N,S,N] and head back upstairs with
- [N,N,E,U,U]. Let's see what else we can find upstairs. Go [S,S]
- into Dunbar's bathroom. Type "OPEN CABINET" and "EXAMINE LOBLO."
- Aha, again! Now we go back downstairs and see if we can find Mr.
- McNabb to see if he knows anything about a ladder under the
- balcony. Go [N,N,D,D,W,S,S]. Let's take a break for a while. Type
- "WAIT UNTIL 11:30."
-
- And now for Mr. McNabb. Let's try the garden path first with
- [E,NE,E,W]. If McNabb is not around, just wait for a while or snoop
- around the area and he will soon show up. Deadline is very
- unpredictable when it comes to the various characters moving around
- the scenario. Once you spot McNabb, go to him and say "HEY MCNABB"
- followed by "WHAT IS WRONG." He will tell you about some holes he
- found in his garden so, naturally, you say "SHOW ME THE HOLES." He
- will take off and you "FOLLOW HIM." When he stops, type "EXAMINE
- HOLES." Eureka! The ladder was here and the depth of the holes
- proves somebody climbed it up to the balcony!
-
- To make sure we cover every angle, type "EXAMINE GROUND" and "DIG
- AROUND HOLES." Hmmm, wonder what this could be about? To find out,
- type "ANALYZE FRAGMENT FOR LOBLO." Oops, it's later than we
- thought! Back to the house for the reading of the will. Go
- [N,SW,SE,E] to the house and [N,N,W] into the living room. Now just
- "WAIT" for the will to be read.
-
- DEADLINE
- Part Three
-
- After the will is read, you decide to see if you can roust some of
- those present into giving you some clues as to the guilty party
- and, perhaps, the motive for the crime. Let's start with George.
- Type "SHOW GEORGE THE CALENDAR." He will get very nervous and start
- heading out of the room. Type "FOLLOW HIM" until he finally goes to
- his room. He will keep telling you to leave him alone, but just
- keep following him until he enters his room. At this point, you
- decide to see if George knows more then he's telling. You aren't
- going to get anything from him here, so let's go to the balcony and
- wait to see if he does anything. Go [W,N,N] to the balcony and type
- "WAIT 10 MINUTES." Voila! Here he comes! Wait until he goes behind
- the bookshelf and then type "WAIT 4 MINUTES" to give him time to
- really get his hands into the cookie jar.
-
- When your 4 minutes are up, go [S], "EXAMINE BOOKSHELF," "PRESS
- BUTTON," and go [E]. Ha! Caught him red-handed!! Type "GET WILL,"
- "LOOK SAFE," "GET PAPERS," and "READ PAPERS." Things are beginning
- to look up! Let's see if we can substantiate some of this stuff. Go
- back to the living room with [W,S,E,E,E,E,D,D,W,W]. My, isn't this
- cozy! Type "HEY BAXTER," "WHAT ABOUT FOCUS." You know he's lying so
- you "SHOW PAPERS TO BAXTER." Ah, that's better! Now for some clever
- psycho-detective work. Type "SHOW LAB REPORT TO DUNBAR" and "SHOW
- LAB REPORT TO BAXTER." Whip around and "ACCUSE DUNBAR." Hmmm...a
- tad nervous, isn't she? Perhaps we should go off and wait to see
- what develops. Go [E] to leave the room and "WAIT FOR DUNBAR." Just
- as we
- suspected! When she passes you, type "FOLLOW HER." Once outside the
- house, she will drop a ticket. Type "GET TICKET" and "READ TICKET."
- WOW! This is getting good! Type "SHOW TICKET TO DUNBAR." You know
- you've got her on the run now so head off to the shed to wait and
- see what develops. Go [E,E,SE] and "WAIT FOR BAXTER." When they
- both show up, "SHOW TICKET TO BAXTER" and "ARREST BAXTER AND
- DUNBAR." You didn't believe them for a minute, did you?
-
- Due to the dynamic nature of Deadline, there are several ways to
- end up accusing Baxter and Dunbar of the murder. There are also
- more puzzles to solve, but this is all that is necessary to put
- together an air-tight case against them. If you have other methods
- of solving Deadline, let us know!