Crack It!/Crack It!.iso/CONTENT/OBSIDIAN/OBSIDIAN.TXT

INI File | 1998-01-30 | 34KB | 926 lines

[Obsidian]

by SegaSoft and Rocket Science Software

Solution copyright ⌐ by Mike Marcelais, February 23, 1997

Obsidian is a basically another Myst-like game. The game puts you in a very
strange but hauntingly familiar setting, gives you puzzles which are
tightly integrated into the storyline and make perfect sense, but you are
given no information as to the objective of each puzzle nor any rules about
how the puzzle works. You are expected to figure out not only the solution,
but the objective and the rules.

And, as the game warns, your rules do not apply.

The bad news about this Myst-clone is that it has the same problem that
Myst does. There is very little replayability since the wonder and mystery
of the world is gone so once you get through the game once, that's it. And
the game is short. About as short as Myst is, despite being on 5 CDs. I
guess I'll just have to wait for Rivan (Myst II) to come out.

I've broken this solution up into pieces. Parts of the game "between"
specific puzzles will be a narrative like this, describing what is going on
and where in the game you are. The puzzles themselves will be broken into
three sections -- the objective, the rules, and the solution. The objective
will tell you what you are trying to accomplish at this location in the
game. The rules will tell you how the puzzle operates. The solution will
(naturally) give everything away. Each section will also be presented in a
series of hints, ranging from very cryptic to plain english. To avoid
seeing too much of a puzzle solution, you might want to set your browser's
window height to be about five text lines or so.

Disclaimer: No outside sources of help were used to complete this solution.
Only the manual and my experiences playing the game myself. Also, there is
a lot to see in this game. This solution just covers the puzzles and the
essentials. For the full game experience, you should explore the scenes.

Table of Contents

   * Introduction
   * The Pacific Northwest
   * The Bureau
        o The Breakout Game
        o Cloud Ring
        o Getting the bridge repair document
        o Getting to the Pre-approval office
        o Starting the clocks
        o The Select-a-phone
        o The balancing rock
   * The Spider
        o Air
        o Earth/Iron
        o Fire/Energy
        o Water/Oil
        o Completion
   * Dreamland
        o Flying Bird
        o The Statue
        o The Piazza
        o The Church of the Machine
   * Paradise
        o The Path To Max
        o Keypad

The Pacific Northwest

You start in the forests of the Olympic Peninsula; a beautiful spot located
in the Pacific Northwest just west of Seattle, Washington. I live in
Seattle (or just out side of it anyway) and it is a very nice place to be.

The point of this first area is not to sightsee. This is a puzzle free,
danger free area that gives you the chance to familiarize yourself with
Obsidian's controls. I think it is a great idea.

Anyway, you're walking through the forest, watching the credits swim
through your vision when you see this large growth thing on the top of a
mountain. Wicked. Eventually you get to your tent.

Inside the tent is a personal data pad. It is hidden inside the right
sleeping bag. Open it up and watch the video clips. Using the PDA is much
like using a web browser: The up and down buttons on the left take to the
next and previous pages; the mail button takes you to your mailbox; the
home button takes you to the main menu; and the power button turns the data
pad on or off. To view a clip or open a folder, just click on the folder.
When you are viewing a clip, you can get back to the previous area by
clicking on the symbol in the corner.

The game forces you to watch all of the clips in the mail, projects, and
journal sections of the PDA. (The other two are not available because of
network problems.) They do contain vital clues, but if you've been through
the intro before, you probably don't want to waste time watching them
again. It is enough to start a clip and then end it immediately. Doing
this, you should be able to breeze through all of the sections in about a
minute.

Now, exit the tent and head down the path again. You should hear a roar and
a loud scream. (If you don't, then this means that you haven't seen
everything in the PDA yet.) Head down to the Obsidian structure.

You're standing directly in front of it now, looking at your reflection.
After a moment, the front wall will break away and you'll be sucked in.
You'll see this scene with all of these little bots making tiles which
eventually grow into a large room.

The Bureau of Administration

You start off in an elevator, looking out over the world. The first thing
you should do is look down, push the elevator button, get out, and head for
the information desk.

You probably have noticed that the lettering is very strange. Well, each
letter is just rotated 180 degrees. You can look behind the red door to
your right for a demonstration. It isn't really necessary. Now to check out
the booths. Each booth on this level is harmless and has some interesting
dialogue. I suggest you check them all out. The booths (in order entering
the right area first) are "Hints", "Sources", "Travel", "Productivity",
"Operations", "Mediation", "Bridge Repair", "Reception", "Bureau Hygiene",
and "Rebel Control".

And that leads to our first puzzle...

Puzzle: Breakout

The Objective

Clear all of the bricks from the screen.

The Rules

You control the paddle in the middle of the screen by dragging it up or
down. Releasing the mouse button will pause the game.

When the red ball hits a red brick on the right of the screen, it vanishes.
When the green ball hits a green brick on the left side of the screen, it
vanishes.

If the ball hits a brick on the "wrong" side, it changes color to the color
of the ball. Hitting the brick with the "right" ball, will change it back.
Hitting it with the "wrong" ball again will end the game.

When you hit the ball with the paddle, it bounces off. The angle is steeper
the closer to the end of the paddle.

The Solution

There is no perfect solution. Ideally, you should try to keep each ball on
its own side of the playing area.

When you clear one screen, you get another. The balls move faster in
subsequent waves.

The game just keeps going on forever, there is no end.

Now, head for the Bridge Repair booth. There is no puzzle here, but one is
presented. You are told that to fix the bridge, you need to get a document
filed under Standard Damage and get it pre-approved. Sounds simple, eh?

To get to the document area, head back to the information deck, but turn
around. Head down the right ladder. When you get to the base of the ladder,
everything changes orientation. Weird. Now head up the other ladder. Notice
that because there wasn't a junction at the bottom that you didn't rotate?
So now you are back at the information deck, but now the deck is on the
wall. Get into the elevator and hit the button.

You are now in the filing area. You need to find the document. Before you
look, there are other things to do.

Head to the computer console on the right side. Look, a message from Max!
But it goes away all too quickly. Oh well. You can poke around the menu
choices but eventually you will want to choose the "Cloud Ring" choice from
the menu. A doorway opens up and you can walk through to the cloud puzzle.

Puzzle: Cloud Ring

The Objective

Spell a word at the bottom of the screen.

The Rules

Each section of the cloud and the ring can be dragged to the bottom of the
screen and placed in one of the six slots.

The sections of the cloud spell "cloud" and the sections of the ring spell
"ring".

You are trying to spell a six letter word at the bottom of the screen using
the letters in "cloud" and "ring"

The Solution

Did you notice any games in the computer that might help?

There is one game in the Word Games area called WordMixer which takes two
words and gives you the longest word which can be made from those two
words.

Maybe you should try playing the game with "Cloud" and "Ring"

Also, notice that the letters which spell cloud are shaped like a cloud and
the letters which spell ring are shaped like a ring?

What is the area you are putting the letters into look like?

The ground. Which is also the word you are trying to spell.

When you have spelled the word "ground" head back out. Now head over to the
console again, because you still have to find the document.

Puzzle: Finding the Standard Damage Document

The Objective

Find the bridge repair document filed under standard damage.

The Rules

Each of the documents is filed in a drawer alphabetically. Just use the
guides on the isles, the guides on the drawers, and the rolodex-like-device
inside each drawer to locate the document.

The Solution

As you may have noticed, the document is not filed under either standard or
damage.

In fact, all of the filing words are one word long. How do you file
something under two words?

Remember the cloud puzzle?

Try playing the game using "standard" and "damage".

You get back "tradesman". The document is here. Go and retrieve it.

Now head up the junction to the light (the original ceiling). Get up on the
platform and pull the lever to the right once. This rotates the structure
so that when you get off you'll be on the wall side with the cubicles. Head
towards them.

Puzzle: Getting to the Office of Pre-Approvals

The Objective

Get to the office of pre-approvals located in the far-left corner of the
cubical maze.

The Rules

To go through any of the doors requires colored cards.

There is a lock on each door. The color stripes on the top of the device
indicate the cards that you need to enter. The color stripes on the bottom
indicate the cards that you will get back.

Exiting the office area results in the loss of all cards.

To enter the Pre-Approval area in the corner, you need three black cards.

You start with two blue, two yellow, and two red cards.

The Solution

The office map looks like this:

  -KKK>-XXXXX       XXXXX-B>YR--XXXXX-->out
        XXXXX-<KKK--XXXXX-K<YB--XXXXX-RY<B-
           |        BY K        YR YR
           ^         V ^         V ^
          KKK        R BY       BB B
  -RY>B-XXXXX-BY>R--XXXXX-YR>BB-XXXXX-->out
  out<--XXXXX-K<YR--XXXXX-R<BY--XXXXX-BB<YR-
        BB K         B R        RB BB
         V ^         V ^         V ^
        YY RY       YR BY       YY RY
 -BB>YY-XXXXX-B>YR--XXXXX-BR>YY-XXXXX-->out
  out<--XXXXX-YY<BB-XXXXX-YR<B--XXXXX-YY<BR-
                     | YR
                     V ^
                   out B

Where, BB>YY means you insert two blue cards and get back two yellow cards.
B = Blue, Y = Yellow, R = Red, K = Black

Notice the upper right corner of the maze. You can go north and then south,
netting a blue card in the process.

From the corner, you can also go left then right to convert two blue cards
into a black and a red card.

To solve the puzzle, get your cards and head for the middle entrance on the
right side. Enter here (BBBBYR are the cards you have), head north
(BBBYYRR), south (BBBBBYR), north (BBBBYYRR), south (BBBBBBYR), north
(BBBBBYYRR), west (KBBBBYRR), east (KBBBYYRRR), west (KKBBYRRR),
east(KKBYYRRRR), west (KKKYRRR), west (YRRR) and you're there!

Once here, you get the form stamped and you can easily exit out the side
door. Now, head back to the light fixture and turn it twice (either
direction) and head down the ramp to the office of immediate action.

Unfortunately, he won't help you since his clocks aren't running. You'll
just have to fix them. Head around behind him.

Puzzle: The clocks

The Objective

Get the earth, sun, and moon to rotate forever without colliding.

The Rules

When the puzzle is stopped, turning the blue dial rotates the earth and
turning the yellow dial rotates the sun.

Turning the white dial changes the phases of the moon.

Pushing the button resets the puzzle.

Pushing the bug lever starts the puzzle going. If it runs a full cycle
without crashing, you've solved the puzzle. Otherwise, the puzzle will stop
when something crashes.

The Solution

There isn't a straightforward way to solve this. There is a catch.

The moon isn't there at all when it is in the new phase.

Here's how to solve it. Reset the puzzle and start it up. Let the earth and
moon crash. Now, adjust the moon so that the phase is new (clockwise 4
times) and adjust the earth so that it is centered on where the moon used
to be (clockwise once). Now start it up and everything should work just
fine.

Now head back to the guy out front and he'll tell you to come back in a
year. As you leave, you hear a voice that asks you to go to the light and
turn it off. To do this, just keep rotating to the left until the lightbulb
becomes unscrewed. Then, go get the document she mentions filed under
orient militia (which codes to limitation) and back to the light and go to
the one face that you haven't been to.

Puzzle: The Select-a-phone

The Objective

To reach the commissioner's office by dialing his number.

The Rules

You turn on the phone by dialing the number found on the "orient militia"
document (934) and pushing the red button.

The three sliders represent the three axes. Where they intersect is the
location that the phone opens up to.

The Solution

Set the first slider to the bottom. Set the second slider to center of the
bottom wall. Set the third slider to the center of the bottom wall. Push
the red button.

Puzzle: The Balancing Rock

The Objective

Reach the commissioner's office.

The Rules

Manipulating the rock changes the exit.

When the rock is up, the door goes to the ceiling.

The rock can be lowered to the left, right, backwards, or forwards.

Each results in you having a different orientation when you try to go
through the door. If your feet aren't on the ground, then you can't get
out.

The Solution

You want to pull the rock down towards you.

You are now on the floor of the commissioner. Walk around to the door above
the bridge and talk to him. He wants you to come back when you are facing
the right direction. Okay, to do this, head up the ladder on the left,
climb out onto the information deck. Then climb over the desk and onto the
globe that Atlas carries. This will rotate you so that you are on the
bridge and you can talk to the commissioner. You are now transported to the
second phase of the game.

The Spider

Now you are in what appears to be a machine factory. And there is this
beast in the center, but he is tied down. You can wander around and explore
this area -- there is actually quite a lot to see here -- but the
interesting things are up the scaffolding stairs next to the big machine in
the middle.

The next four areas can be taken in any order, so just pick a scaffolding
and climb it. Each of these four areas relates directly to one of the four
classical elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water; and it should be easy to
determine which one is which.

Whenever you solve a puzzle, the portal that you came through changes to
this view of a starfield and you are taken to a central chamber. You are
also shown a card of the scene you just came from. Match it up with the
slot below the symbol for the element you just solved.

Puzzle: Air

The Objective

Using the cannon, shoot the tornado.

The Rules

The cannon fires where you aim it.

If you look down, there is a small air hole which opens up onto a puzzle.

For every ball in the light green area, you get a red beam when you fire
the cannon.

Pushing a blower on the side of the square moves all of the balls in that
line away from that blower.

The Solution

The grid starts with all of the balls except one on the outside. You want
to get the entire grid EXCEPT the center space filled so that you can trap
the air in the center:

[Label the blowers like this:

       ABC
    M.....
    L.....
    K.....D
     .....E
     .....F
     IHG

Push the blowers in this order: EGDDCDFCCCIFFIFIFKIKIKII

Then go outside and shoot the tornado. (It will probably take a few tries.)

Earth/Iron

Although there is a puzzle here, some narration first. You start by looking
at a scene showing several bots jumping down chutes and spitting green ore
into a hopper. Then all is quiet. Head down the path to the manufacturing
area.

You arrive at a conveyor belt. There is a button there labeled with a
symbol in green ore. (I'm calling that symbol "Fore" from now on.) If you
push the button, you'll see one piece drop onto the belt, roll down to the
next section, and bounce off as the door doesn't open. If you look at that
compartment, you'll see space for a cylinder and the following formula on
the back wall: "Fore" + (cylinder) = "Delta" [what I will be calling that
other element.]

Now head through the next door into the chemistry lab. You'll see a
periodic table above the chem set, a tape player to your left, and there
are seveal chemicals and a mixing chamber in front of you.

Puzzle: Synthesizing "Delta"

The Objective

Create the chemical in the cylinder necessary to continue the manufacturing
process.

The Rules

Looking at the tapes and the tables should give you the following
information:

To mix two chemicals, put one solution in the left cylinder and the other
in the right cylinder and hit the button in the middle. Hitting the button
next to the left and right cylinders will empty that cylinder.

The flasks to your left contain the elements R1-R4, Y1-Y5 (but Y3 is
missing), and B1-B6 (but B2 is missing).

The formula for "Delta" is R1Y3. The formula for "Fore" is Y3B4

If you mix two "singles", and they are compatible, then they will join to
form a double. Red and Blue are incompatible with each other.

If you mix a double and a single, then the two largest elements that are
compatible will form a compound. Such replacement can only occur if the
newer element is heavier than both of the other elements. A Y2 cannot
replace anything in Y1Y2 because Y2 is not heavier than Y2.

The Solution

Mixing two doubles will cause the largest two compatible elements to form a
compound, much like mixing a single and a double. The two elements left
over will form another compound.

You are looking for a mixture that will satisfy the formula
"Fore"+mixture="Delta", or Y3B4+mixture=R1Y3

Since Y3 is in both mixtures, it should stay the same. However, since R1 is
"lighter" than B4, "Delta" must be the leftover chemical.

That means that you would have to convince B4 to join a heavier compound
and leave R1 off.

The way to do that is to have B4 and some other element be the two heaviest
compounds.

The compound in the mixture must have R1 in it also, so you cannot use a B,
since blues and reds are incompatible.

That leaves the mixture R1Y5.

Mix R1 on the left with Y5 on the right. Take the cylinder and put it into
the manufacturing chamber. Then push the button and leave the scene.

Puzzle: Fire/Energy

The Objective

Connect the power of the sun to the tentacle plant.

The Rules

When you click on a pillar, the tentacle that hovers over that pillar stops
moving.

When you click on the sun, a bolt of lightning shoots down and hits the
five pillars in order.

If the tentacle is touching the pillar at the same time the lightning
strikes, you hear a chime.

You need to get all five tentacles to chime at the same time.

The Solution

Just set it up, and make adjustments until they are all positioned
correctly. There isn't a way of telling you exactly how to set it up except
for the rules listed above.

Puzzle: Water/Oil

You start in a large desert area surrounded by dunes and the ocean. There
is scrawled into the ground the number "038.1". This area is largely an
area of recognizing what goes where; it is hard to give hints for so I'm
warning you now that you should only read one paragraph at a time to avoid
giving away the entire world.

The first interesting place to head to is that small castle on the dunes.
You'll see a scope there which has a dial. The two numbers look very much
like they could hold that number on the sand, so dial up "038.1" and enter
it in. You'll see that you've struck oil!

Now, the next area to be is the waterfront, all of the way straight ahead.
You'll notice an odd area of water where the waves don't line up. Clicking
on a section of water will cause it to move. You have to line up all of the
areas so that there are no seams. [The water does not have to line up with
the water that is not part of the puzzle.] It is easiest to start from the
far back corner and work your way forward.

A large area of the ground has lifted itself up. Notice that odd pattern on
the side of the ground? Make a note of it (it is much easier to see when
you are in or near the castle). Now head back to the castle itself, but
approach it from the opposite direction. You'll enter inside it.

Turn towards the central hub. There is a weird design on the door. You need
to make this design look like the one outside. You can move lines up and
down, and you can rotate them around (they wrap around the edge).

The exact order of the lines is: Top line, left twice. Drag the fifth line
up to the second line. Drag the eighth line up to the third line and then
left twice. Drag the sixth line up to the fourth line and then left twice.
Drag the ninth line up to the fifth line and then left twice. Sixth line,
right twice. Drag the ninth line up to the seventh line and then right
twice. Eighth line, right twice. Ninth line is correct. Tenth line, right
twice.

When you go through the newly opened door, you'll see the area of the ocean
floor where the land rose up and see an oil spurt there. You need to find
out where that is.

Return to the tower and head for the scanner. Scan north, looking for a
feature that looks like the area where you saw the well. This is at
location 133.5.

Return to the scope and enter 133.5 into the device and push the button.

The completion

You are back in the central chamber. Now, all you need to do is connect the
points in the correct order. They will form a pattern that looks very much
like the letter M. When this happens, watch the movie, and then return to
the factory floor where you will be transported to the next world.

The Dreamland

You enter this land in a large junkyard. Run down the path and push the
button on the radio; you are then taken to the big hand in the center of
the junkyard. There is an empty painting hanging mysteriously in the sky,
and a junk plane on the ground behind you. The first thing you have to do
is to get the plane airborne. If you go to the engine room, you'll find the
first puzzle of this area.

Puzzle: The crazy, mixed-up bird.

The Objective

Make the plane fly by making the bird fly straight.

The Rules

The frames that make up the animation can be moved around and are shown in
the order displayed from left to right (looping around).

The frames need to be in the right order so that the motion of the bird is
smooth.

The Solution

There isn't much here to say except for the exact moves that solve this
puzzle:

Number the frame positions from left to right from 0 to 10.

Move 4 to 1, 7 to 2, 4 to 3, 6 to 4, 7 to 6 and 10 to 8.

Now head to the captain's chair, look down and turn the key, then follow
the directions. You select a destination by clicking on the location on the
screen. Since the most interesting place is obviously the frame in the sky,
select that. Hmm, not a valid destination? Probably because there is
nothing in the frame. We'll see about that. Head for the Statue; that is
the right blip.

(In truth, the next three sections can be done in any order.)

The Statue

You enter the statue and climb up (and up, and up. Reminds me of the Statue
of Liberty in New York) to find a large gallery. Browse all of the
paintings and eventually head down to the far end of the gallery. Then
enter the door on the left and examine the printing press.

Puzzle: The Printing Press

The Objective

Prepare an empty canvas.

The Rules

There are eight pieces that can be slid around on the canvas.

The yellow button will arrange the pieces into one of three configurations.

The green button will "print" what you have and submit it to the robot
artist.

If two pieces are on top of each other, they cancel each other out.

The Solution

You are trying to obliterate all of the pieces.

To do this, start by taking the unusual piece and placing it in the center
of the canvas. Get all of the other pieces out of the way.

Next, take the short, horizontal rectangle and place it so that it overlaps
the thin section of the previous piece. You should end up with two squares,
slightly offset from each other.

Next, take the other horizontal piece and place one end of it on the upper
square. This should obliterate the existing square and leave you with a new
square.

Next, take the vertical rectangle and place it over the lower square so
that it obliterates that square and leaves another one below it.

Now take a pair of triangles and join them into a square and place it over
one of the squares. Use the other pair of triangles to obliterate the other
square.

Hit the green "print" button.

The robot will paint a scene and mount it. If you flip the switch next to
the painting, it will transmit that picture to the frame in the sky.

Since there is now something in the frame, return to the plane and try to
fly towards it. The plane complains that it is a non-regulation destination
and the plane is configured for regulation flight. Looks like you need to
figure out how to make a non-regulation flight. Head for the Piazza instead
(the left blip).

The Piazza

As you get off the plane, you see a building floating in the sky. As you
enter, you see a four-by-four playing area with a robot that wants you to
catch your inspiration.

Puzzle: Catching Your Inspiration

The Objective

Trap the robot who gave you your original message about inspiration.

The Rules

You both are on a grid. You start at the lower-right and the robot starts
at the upper-left.

You take turns moving. You can only move up, down, left, or right. (In the
game interface, only moving forward counts as a move; turning to the side
does not.)

Before you move, you can make one of the sixteen objects vanish. This
prevents the robot from moving into that square.

You cannot make the object that the robot is currently hiding behind
vanish, but this is a good way to find the robot.

The Solution

Below is a series of "best moves" that will allow you to win. In general,
ignore the robot until you are in one of the four center squares on the
board. If the robot is on the same side of the grid as you, then use the
solutions; otherwise step onto that side of the grid.

Key: . = free space; * = space with object removed; y = You; r = Robot's
current location, n = next move. To read the key, you remove the object
from the space marked with a * and then move in the direction towards the
n.

If you are on the same side of the grid as the robot, then the robot can
only be on one of the squares marked. The first pattern is a "win", the
second and third both lead to the first pattern.

    rn.. (Win!)  .*r.    ....
    *y..         .yn.    .ynr
    ....         ....    ...*
    ....         ....    ....

After you have won, go up the stairs at the back of the game board. You'll
see a miniature version of the game. There isn't really a game to play
here, but notice the chimes that get made after each move you make. It is
one for every space away the robot is.

Now return to the plane. Start up the flight sequence again. Notice how the
switchboard looks a lot like the game board. And notice that after you flip
switch D1, the light next to D1 is lit green (representing "you") and the
light next to A4 is lit red (representing the robot), but won't stay open.
If you open any cover, that is like removing the object. Try playing the
game; when you win, you'll be in non-regulation flight mode. Select the
Frame in the Sky. The plane will complain that weather forces you to use a
computer pilot. Try flipping the large red lever. The plane says that it is
missing a crossover chip that allows you to change control over to the
computer. Need to go get that chip.

Fly to the Church of the Machine (the center blip).

The Church of the Machine

Right inside the front door, there is a view of the central area. There is
also a small conductor. He will show you a map of the area that has curious
designs labeled at the end of the halls. After you have looked at it, head
down the stairs and look at the large bot in the center of the room.

It is located directly in front of a chip. When you climb inside the mouth
of the machine, a programming board appears.

Puzzle: Creating the Crossover Chip

The Objective

Program the chip by burning the three symbols into it.

The Rules

The eleven symbols at the bottom of the screen represents a program that
the machine will follow.

The first symbol is unchangeable -- the gets the chip and holds it up to
the light. This only works if the machine is in the center of the temple,
facing north.

The arrows instruct the machine to turn in that direction (or not to turn
at all, for the straight arrow) and then move one space forward.

If the machine reaches the end of the north, west, or east corridor it will
burn a symbol onto the chip. Order does not matter; burning a symbol twice
will not hurt.

If the robot stands next to one of the statues in the southern area, it
will adjust its program exactly as if the human pilot had entered the key
that is next to each symbol. The direction the machine faces is not
important.

If the robot ever runs into a wall, or executes the "chip" program without
being at "home", the program will end and the chip will be erased.

The program always starts with both the green "cursor" and the instruction
"pointer" at the beginning. Every time the program reaches the end, both
the cursor and the pointer are reset to the start and the program resumes.

Pulling the lever in the corner will start the program. Pulling it again
will abort the program and reset everything.

The Solution

There are no enough slots to simply walk to all three sides of the temple
and return back.

And if you don't change the program, there won't be any way of getting all
three symbols.

What you have to do is get one symbol, then edit the program so that you
are ready to get the next symbol.

You can get the first symbol by using the instructions, Right, Forward,
U-Turn, Forward, Left. This will leave you facing south.

Getting another symbol would start with the instructions, Left, Forward,
U-Turn, Forward, Right.

Notice that these patterns are exactly the same except for the first and
last instruction?

If after you executed these instructions, you went into the south area and
visited the "Next", "Down", "Next 4", and "Up" re-programming statues, that
would change the first instructions to go from one direction to another.
[The first next moves the cursor from the "Chip" code to the first
direction. "Down" changes Right to Straight (and then to Left). "Next 4"
skips to the "last" code. And "Up" changes the Left to Straight (and then
to Right).

Then head back north so that you are in the right position.

This sequence of instructions is: Chip, Right, Straight, U-Turn, Straight,
Left, Left, Right, Right, Right, Straight.

After you run the program, get the chip and place it in your ship. There is
a place labeled "insert" to the right of the door to the engine where it
can be placed.

Now you should be able to give the computer pilot control, enter
non-regulation flight, and select the Frame as the destination.

Paradise

You enter this world on this wild pathway. Head down the pathway (though
the green door) and continue straight at the junction. You'll hear Max call
out to you at this point, but the path to him seems blocked.

Puzzle: The Path to Max

The Objective

Reach Max by positioning the pieces to form a continuous path.

The Rules

There are three horizontal pieces and three vertical pieces.

When you move pieces up and down, only the vertical pieces move. When you
move left or right, only the horizontal pieces move.

If a piece is blocked by another piece, or at the end of the play area, the
piece will not move.

The Solution

Make the following moves:

Up three times.

Left seven times.

Right four times.

Up once.

Right twice.

Down twice.

Right once.

Now head down the path. Max seems in pain. Look down and remove the
cylinder of chemical and pour it into one of the tubes to the left or
right. He'll tell you to head back to the keypad at the location where you
came in. Run back there and work on the last puzzle.

Puzzle: The Keypad

The Objective

Make the manual override switch visible by pushing the eight keypad
buttons.

The Rules

There are eight real buttons and eight phantom buttons.

If you push a real button, it lights up.

If you push a phantom button, it resets the keypad and all of the phantom
buttons move one square.

The Solution

Hit buttons at random until you hit a phantom button. When it does, try to
watch to see which eight buttons are the phantom buttons. Then hit the
other eight.

You now go through the endgame. You can either flip the switch back or do
nothing during the five second countdown. The two ending are both short and
disappointing. I wish the ending was as thorough as the rest of the game,
but given the choice between endgame animation and gameplay, I prefer
gameplay.

Enjoy, and wait for the next Myst like game.