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Obduction |OT| Explore, uncover, solve, decide in a Mysterious world

For a series newbie (never really played Myst for more than 10 minutes), regarding the older Myst/Riven puzzle games, which ones would you all say are 'must plays' of the genre? Think I might bite the bullet and get a couple on steam rn.

I mean, i think they have remade the first Myst like 5 times now, realMyst etc. Its still a classic, but Riven, which hasnt been updated or remade, was always kind of the AAA budget mega adventure game of the time. Insanely hard, obscure puzzles matched with beautiful graphics and sound. It was like 5 cds when it launched, like a Final Fantasy game.
 
For a series newbie (never really played Myst for more than 10 minutes), regarding the older Myst/Riven puzzle games, which ones would you all say are 'must plays' of the genre? Think I might bite the bullet and get a couple on steam rn.

riven is one of the best adventure games and one of my favorite games of all time. i'm also quite fond of zork nemesis
 
Maybe I'm getting too old for these types of games or something.. really struggling right now. Might need a little tip..

The green button inside the garage doesn't work, and I'm not sure if the same issue is preventing me from powering up the robot looking thing.

Power is on, battery is connected, but a few areas including the garage don't have the red lights illuminated on the minimap near the power cables. Any hint?? I also have doors with 3 and 6 digit codes blocking me, plus a white seemingly immovable door in the jungle world.
 
Maybe I'm getting too old for these types of games or something.. really struggling right now. Might need a little tip..

The green button inside the garage doesn't work, and I'm not sure if the same issue is preventing me from powering up the robot looking thing.

Power is on, battery is connected, but a few areas including the garage don't have the red lights illuminated on the minimap near the power cables. Any hint?? I also have doors with 3 and 6 digit codes blocking me, plus a white seemingly immovable door in the jungle world.

Ignore Jungle world for now, i havent even got past it yet. Garage....well if you turned on the Train car, then the only other thing is behind the fence area in the scrap heap, (you get there by disabling the giant dome shield and teleporting along the edges, there is a power box near the circular cart-track area up top, switch it up and it should power the remaining areas. Once you do that you can open the garage door and activate everything you need. Also when it comes to keypad devices, pay attention to any numbers you see in the game world, they might be used...also symbols and stuff, all useful.
 
Ignore Jungle world for now, i havent even got past it yet. Garage....well if you turned on the Train car, then the only other thing is behind the fence area in the scrap heap, (you get there by disabling the giant dome shield and teleporting along the edges, there is a power box near the circular cart-track area up top, switch it up and it should power the remaining areas. Once you do that you can open the garage door and activate everything you need. Also when it comes to keypad devices, pay attention to any numbers you see in the game world, they might be used...also symbols and stuff, all useful.
Yep, the switch you mentioned.. Apparently walked right by it multiple times, oblivious. Thanks!
 
I mean, i think they have remade the first Myst like 5 times now, realMyst etc. Its still a classic, but Riven, which hasnt been updated or remade, was always kind of the AAA budget mega adventure game of the time. Insanely hard, obscure puzzles matched with beautiful graphics and sound. It was like 5 cds when it launched, like a Final Fantasy game.

Is this game on the same level difficulty wise as riven? I could deal with Myst, but Riven was entirely too much for me
 
I mean, i think they have remade the first Myst like 5 times now, realMyst etc. Its still a classic, but Riven, which hasnt been updated or remade, was always kind of the AAA budget mega adventure game of the time. Insanely hard, obscure puzzles matched with beautiful graphics and sound. It was like 5 cds when it launched, like a Final Fantasy game.

riven is one of the best adventure games and one of my favorite games of all time. i'm also quite fond of zork nemesis

5 CDs? Wow, yeah, it does sound like a goddamn beast haha. I'll add Riven and realMyst to my cart with Obduction, then, and go Obduction -> Myst -> Riven. I assume the former is more of its own thing from what I looked around and it should save the hardest one for the end.

Might hold off on Zork Nemesis for now but I played a bit of Zork: Grand Inquisitor with a friend and it was fun so I'll keep it in mind for later as well. Thanks :D
 
Is this game on the same level difficulty wise as riven? I could deal with Myst, but Riven was entirely too much for me

Riven got to a point where you needed to be a PHD or something. I dont think this game is that hard, but it is challenging. I mean i haven't beat it so i dont know. Riven though was a marvel of fuckery. That much money will never be spent on insanity again i can tell you. The good thing about Riven in modern times though is there are a billion FAQs

5 CDs? Wow, yeah, it does sound like a goddamn beast haha. I'll add Riven and realMyst to my cart with Obduction, then, and go Obduction -> Myst -> Riven. I assume the former is more of its own thing from what I looked around and it should save the hardest one for the end.

Might hold off on Zork Nemesis for now but I played a bit of Zork: Grand Inquisitor with a friend and it was fun so I'll keep it in mind for later as well. Thanks :D

realMyst Masterpiece Edition i think is supposed to be the best version, going off of some reviews.
 
Yeah, Riven is pretty crazy. The puzzles are actually pretty logical in the way they're integrated into the world and story (like you have to learn the local culture's numbering system), but with the clues scattered all across five islands it's so easy to miss things. The world is big and mostly explorable at the start, so it's hard to even know where to begin beyond just wandering the beautiful islands!

It's brilliant though - one of the most fully-realized game worlds ever. Virtually every knicknack you see is part of a puzzle and/or of some significance to the story and characters.

realMyst holds up well, though it's a bit surprising how short it is now. The maze (which the brothers always mention as their biggest regret about the game) is the game's biggest sore sport. But besides that, the ages and the atmosphere are great and the story is very simple but done just right. The puzzles tend to be more abstract than Riven, though not always.

III and IV were not made by the Miller brothers, but are pretty worthy (though not perfect) follow-ups to the first two in my view. III is closer to the first game. IV is very ambitious and tries to combine Myst, a scaled-down Riven and some of its own new ideas - not all of which work, but it still gets a lot right.
 
i made a really awful thread about riven 6 years ago. it sucks and i hate it (the thread), but it still accurately conveys my enthusiasm for the game :)

OT: i had a chance to put a few hours into this earlier, and it actually runs on my measly 560ti on high with some heavy resolution scaling! it's not great but it's still very enjoyable and very, very pretty. currently working on the villein number system and having a blast
 
Yeah let me go on record and turn in some cred and say Myst 3 and 4 were actually fucking great. Alright, the shit was hot, they did a real good job. Jack Wall music was absolutely life changing beautiful. I know im real sorry. Actually the most upsetting thing about all that is those games arent really accessible in a way without weird drm. I have some physical collection of them but they are DRM everywhere. Ubisoft need to fix that shit. GOG you bastards give me DRM free Myst 3-4 i luv you long time.
 
A lot of people really hate Serenia in IV. I need to actually finish the game to see if it's deserved (I only got partway through the age). I think my save has been lost unfortunately...

I prefer Myst and Riven's soundtracks, but Wall's more direct music has its own charm. And yeah, SecuROM on IV with no digital is awful. III, at least the CD version, came out before DRM got intrusive.
 
Yeah let me go on record and turn in some cred and say Myst 3 and 4 were actually fucking great. Alright, the shit was hot, they did a real good job. Jack Wall music was absolutely life changing beautiful. I know im real sorry. Actually the most upsetting thing about all that is those games arent really accessible in a way without weird drm. I have some physical collection of them but they are DRM everywhere. Ubisoft need to fix that shit. GOG you bastards give me DRM free Myst 3-4 i luv you long time.

Myst 4 for Mac can't even run on newer versions of OS X. It badly needs a port.

While we're at it I might as well wish for all the art to be re-rendered in HD, too. But all that stuff is in Ubisoft's hands.
 
Hint please! Still in the beginning area:

I'm in the garage trying to work the Villein pad. The note explaining the number system makes little sense to me. I have found the diagram in Farley's house that looks like a diagonal 15, but if I'm reading that correctly it looks like I have to somehow eliminate the connecting lines on the edges of the panel? There are X'es in those four spots, anyway. Regardless, when I try entering the figure 15 and pressing the button, the pad auto-corrects and gives me a "406" on the register, but that doesn't seem to do much. I tried dialing that number in the phone booth but it didn't do anything.
 
Hint please! Still in the beginning area:

I'm in the garage trying to work the Villein pad. The note explain the numbers makes little sense to me. I have found the diagram in Farley's house that looks like a diagonal 15, but if I'm reading that correctly it looks like I have to somehow eliminate the connecting lines on the edges of the panel? There are X'es in those four spots, anyway. Regardless, when I try entering the figure 15 and pressing the button, the pad auto-corrects and gives me a "406" on the register, but that doesn't seem to do much. I tried dialing that number in the phone booth but it didn't do anything.

You're on the right track - make a note of that number. Probably best to go look around elsewhere.
 
Game is so good. I'm constantly stumped and then uncover a layer about the world I hadn't noticed before. I love this so much.

Thank you Cyan+backers!

edit:
Yeah I never got to play Myst 4...realllly want to. Myst 3 was stellar imho. Ubisoft...please... =(
 
Myst III: Exile is one of my favourite games of all time. It was made with care and love for the source material, and Rand Miller was involved somewhat as well. The ages are just breathtaking, especially Amateria. I love the 360 degree panoramas, at the time of release they were truly impressive, but still hold up today and give you a nice sense of immersion. The ambient sound design is top notch and someone else mentioned Jack Wall's unbelievable soundtrack. The puzzles are just the perfect amount of difficulty, although definitely the easiest Myst game.

I highly recommend Myst III for those who haven't played it!
 
Myst III: Exile is one of my favourite games of all time. It was made with care and love for the source material, and Rand Miller was involved somewhat as well. The ages are just breathtaking, especially Amateria. I love the 360 degree panoramas, at the time of release they were truly impressive, but still hold up today and give you a nice sense of immersion. The ambient sound design is top notch and someone else mentioned Jack Wall's unbelievable soundtrack. The puzzles are just the perfect amount of difficulty, although definitely the easiest Myst game.

I highly recommend Myst III for those who haven't played it!

Myst III was probably my favourite of the series. Its difficulty was nice and balanced, and having Brad Dourif in it was bonus. IV's difficulty, on the other hand, flipped towards irritatingly hard.

Obduction's great as far as I've played it. Got to admit though, it's making me consider a graphics card upgrade sooner rather than later.

im really bummed now that i missed the ks and my chance to get a boxed copy of this

I'm wishing I'd gone for the boxed copy now.
 
Umh, I need another hint because I don't really know what to do:

deactivated the red beam in Jungle Age, built a couple of bridges, played around with two teleports. I also tried to move the chart in one of those teleport but apparently you can't do that. I teleported the debris around, now I have the dome in the junkyard, but I don't really know what to do next.
 
Ludens,
the place you're in has lots of seed pedestals, hasn't it? Pay attention to the size/radius of the spheres they create!

And in case that was too vague:
Some pedestals create a bigger teleport sphere and will also teleport their neighboring pedestals. You basically have to teleport/swap back and forth in such a way that you clear the path. You also need to teleport the bridge control panel into the cave to build bridges there. The floor in one of the jungle domes can be rotated to move the bridge controller into two different positions.
 
Myst III is great. The only real criticism I have is that the puzzles are all abstract and disconnected from the story (which a lot of Myst I's puzzles are too in fairness, but not all). Of course there is an in-game reason for this - they're "teaching" ages. Anyway it's gorgeous, the story is good, and a lot of the puzzles are really well-designed on their own merits.

Myst IV seems to be controversial for three reasons: some really bad acting, a few annoying timed puzzles that are too exacting even after you know the solution, and the mystical/magical turn in Serenia. Plus unfortunately you can't play it without awful mid-00s DRM. The first two are forgiveable blemishes though, and I only got through part of Serenia so I can't exactly make a judgment on that (but regardless Serenia is only one age). The amulet and most other gameplay additions are good, the animated pre-renders are amazing, the story gets a lot right, and the ages are big and developed enough to be like mini-Rivens. I really enjoyed my partial playthrough and will finish it someday, though I will probably need to start over.

Unfortunately my computer cannot run Obduction at all, which I anticipated when I funded the Kickstarter! Well, it is starting to die and was due for a replacement anyway, so I will be able to play it within the next few months. I might play the Myst series some to whet my appetite. Maybe we could have a topic? But it would probably be good to wait a couple weeks until more people finish Obduction.
 
Hmm, my system runs the game at a smooth and lovely 60fps on High settings for about an hour then starts chugging like mad, forcing me to reset the game. Any known issues with memory leaks at all?

EDIT: I've tried lowering various and all settings and it's still happening.
 
Ludens,
the place you're in has lots of seed pedestals, hasn't it? Pay attention to the size/radius of the spheres they create!

And in case that was too vague:
Some pedestals create a bigger teleport sphere and will also teleport their neighboring pedestals. You basically have to teleport/swap back and forth in such a way that you clear the path. You also need to teleport the bridge control panel into the cave to build bridges there. The floor in one of the jungle domes can be rotated to move the bridge controller into two different positions.

I passed that section luckily, I just "lost" a thing so as soon as I saw that, I managed to solve the puzzle easily. Now I'm dealing with
the three teleports puzzle, I managed to build 4 bridges but I don't know what I need to do next. I see you can go up, but I can't pass from the bridge.

EDIT: Nevermind I did it.
 
So how long is this game? I spent 28 hours with The Witness and was happy with that. But that's probably my only real experience with games like this, if that's even comparable.
 
So how long is this game? I spent 28 hours with The Witness and was happy with that. But that's probably my only real experience with games like this, if that's even comparable.
I think someone here said they finished Obduction in 9 hours. I usually take longer with games (I took like 40 hours in The Witness to do all the panels and the second ending but NOT all the pillars).


In general news, the patch got rolled back today because apparently it was breaking some people's save files. I'm happy the developers are using the steam announcements since I can ACTUALLY CLICK THE NEWS BUTTON BY THE DOWNLOAD and have it do something, unlike tons of Steam games.
 
Well looks like I screwed myself by
not learning how the number pads actually work because I can't get back to the garage now.
 
I think someone here said they finished Obduction in 9 hours. I usually take longer with games (I took like 40 hours in The Witness to do all the panels and the second ending but NOT all the pillars).


In general news, the patch got rolled back today because apparently it was breaking some people's save files. I'm happy the developers are using the steam announcements since I can ACTUALLY CLICK THE NEWS BUTTON BY THE DOWNLOAD and have it do something, unlike tons of Steam games.

Yup I finished in 9 hours taking my time, but I might have just lucked out and found solutions pretty quickly. Only the last puzzle in the game had me tempted to look up outside help.

Like you I was ~40 hours for The Witness with ignoring most pillars.

I know I've seen the door that needs
three digits
but I cannot find it again! Please help, I'm going crazy here.

General area:
in the same area that teleports you to the start of the jungle world.
 
Played a bit of this last night, but the performance was bad, with lots of hitching. Can anyone weigh in on which graphics settings I should be turning down first?
 
a few annoying timed puzzles
5l22upj.jpg
 
Yeah, the monkey puzzle is obnoxious to complete. Although, the design of how it fits into the world and story is actually pretty clever. But still, it should have been either not timed or with very generous windows.
 
So, I need help again :D

I did the maze, took the right exit, deactivated the blob thing which eliminated one door on the upper rail. Now what? Don't tell me I need to do the maze several times in order to clear all the exits?
 
Played a bit of this last night, but the performance was bad, with lots of hitching. Can anyone weigh in on which graphics settings I should be turning down first?

I have a GTX960 and experienced some hitching. This is what I did:
-turned anti-aliasing to low and injected SweetFX with sharpening and SMAA anti-aliasing
-their anti aliasing technique introduces smeary textures and dithering anyways
-put the game in borderless window mode. Runs better for some reason
-turn off vertical sync
-you can use RivaTuner and lock the game to 60 for more stability
-from there you can turn down shadows, post processing, and textures a bit

I now run the game at around 60fps with virtually no studder and it looks better than the "epic" settings out of the box. You can up the draw distance to "max", which is higher than "epic."
 
So, I need help again :D

Of course you need to explore all three exits of the maze! Because of symmetry, you can use the same maze configuration to get to the left and the right exit. But you need a different one for the top exit.
 
I have a GTX960 and experienced some hitching. This is what I did:
-turned anti-aliasing to low and injected SweetFX with sharpening and SMAA anti-aliasing
-their anti aliasing technique introduces smeary textures and dithering anyways
-put the game in borderless window mode. Runs better for some reason
-turn off vertical sync
-you can use RivaTuner and lock the game to 60 for more stability
-from there you can turn down shadows, post processing, and textures a bit

I now run the game at around 60fps with virtually no studder and it looks better than the "epic" settings out of the box. You can up the draw distance to "max", which is higher than "epic."

Thanks for this! Will try these changes next time I play.
 
Of course you need to explore all three exits of the maze! Because of symmetry, you can use the same maze configuration to get to the left and the right exit. But you need a different one for the top exit.

I know I know, I was just kidding because this puzzle is frustrating like hell, considering I don't own a SSD, loading times are awful.

You just need to rotate one piece for the upper exit.
 
I know I know, I was just kidding because this puzzle is frustrating like hell, considering I don't own a SSD, loading times are awful.

You just need to rotate one piece for the upper exit.

Yup that's the puzzle that I felt really wasted my time.


Also I learned a tip for running faster. Hold the W key and the up arrow simultaneously to move twice as fast.
 
I can't play the game yet with my current computer, but did you try the old-school discrete nav points option? That might help with the speed (just a speculative guess).
 
I like the idea of these 'ambient' puzzles that just appear after wandering for a while. At least when I'm clueless as to what to do, I can poke and prod this unbelievably good looking environment. It feels like it adds substance to the walking sim formula, and it's got a calming quality to it.
 
I'm incredibly frustrated right now because I've hit my first major roadblock. Everything was going smooth until this puzzle. I don't even want to mention what it is in case someone accidentally gives me a hint. The only way I can make any progress in the entire game (as far as I know) is to solve this thing and it feels like brute force on top of irritating loading times. I'm still early in the game (maybe 50%?) so it's not a late game puzzle or anything like that. The worst part is I feel it's not even meant to be difficult.
 
Okay, okay. Reached the first bit that's stumped me. I'm presumably near the end of the second area. I've found the note with the long numeric code for
the box with the Russian characters on it.

I entered the code whilst
the box was hoisted up by the stairs and it fell off and broke, giving me an achievement but no visible progress.

Can I get a quick hint on where I should be looking next please?
 
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