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Soft Hints Guide Series - Part 1: The Back Door

By aaaaargwarbl

Are you stuck, but afraid to look at a hand-holding walkthrough for fear of being spoiled on item placements or puzzle solutions? Fear no more: this guide series is what you're looking for.

This Soft Hints Guide Series is designed to gently nudge you forward, giving you soft clues to work you through your mental blocks. Unlike a certain other guide, this one makes a genuine effort to avoid casually spoiling things such as hidden object placement or order of puzzles to solve. To the extent that I can do so without rendering the guide unreadable, all clues and solutions are wrapped in spoiler tags to allow you to work things out at your own pace, with minimal risk of inadvertantly peeking ahead too far.

The guides in this series are not to be used as a walkthrough; they are meant to gently nudge you forward, giving you soft clues to work you through your mental blocks, and encourage you to discover the answers for yourself. Solutions are provided, but only as a failsafe should these clues fail to do their job.

In order to discourage you from relying on these guides as you would a walkthrough, they will intentionally gloss over important items and puzzles until you run up against a point where you cannot progress without them. Explore on your own as thoroughly as you can, and you'll be spared much backtracking later.

If my hints aren't gentle enough (i.e. they jump ahead too fast), please let me know and I'll fix them. And stay tuned for the continuation!

Award

Created by

aaaaargwarbl
Offline

Category: Walkthroughs

Languages: English

Posted

26 Jul, 2017 @ 9:31pm

2,581	Unique Visitors
4	Current Favorites

Guide Index

Overview

On The Boat

Back Gate

Servant's Entrance

Power Generator Room

Comments

On The Boat

Before you can do anything else, you must open the briefcase. Click on it once to zoom in, and again to open it.
Inside the briefcase, gather all items that you can. You will need one of these items almost immediately.
Solution: Collect the gate keys from the briefcase.
While you're here, you ought to read the letter for some insight as to why you've come to this place. It's not strictly necessary, but if you want to experience this game to the fullest, get into the habit of reading these bits of exposition scattered throughout. Some literature even contains solutions to puzzles you can't decipher otherwise.
Now that you've done everything here, turn toward the dock and click on the path where it curls out of sight. Note that the game will not allow you to progress past the first screen until you have collected the necessary item.

Back Gate

Right away, your path is blocked by a gate. You will have to unlock the gate in order to progress.
Examine the gate and attempt to open it.
A padlock secures the gate closed. You'll need to remove it.
To remove the padlock, you must click and drag an item from your inventory onto the padlock.
Solution: Click and drag the key onto the padlock.
The gate opens. Click the path ahead to progress to the next screen.

Servant's Entrance

Analyze the situation.

In order to gain entrance into the castle, you must open this wooden door.
Examine the door. Unlike the gate before, there are no locks to unlock on the door itself.
As you examine the door, note how the odd hanging sign with a cog-shaped recess remains in view.
The cables running from the sign to the door spell it out for you; you must solve a puzzle in the sign in order to progress.

Search the area.

If you're ever not sure what to do next, examine the surrounding area. Most puzzles can only be solved by hunting down nearby vital clues or necessary items; pure logic is rarely ever enough.
Get a closer look at the odd pillar by the cliff. Something about it seems... interactive, somehow.
Click and drag the top of the pillar.
Keep clicking and dragging in one direction until a secret compartment is revealed.
There's half a cog inside. Take it and add it to your inventory.
The half-cog seems like it should fit in the cog-shaped recess.
Inserting the half-cog by itself is not enough; it will only accept a complete cog.
What you need should be directly behind you.
Check out the odd two-thirds metal wheel on a set of wooden posts.
Try rotating the wheel to see what happens.
There's another secret compartment, and the other half of the cog. Take it.
Return to the sign with the cog-shaped recess.

Solve the puzzle.

You can't place the halves of the cog into the recess individually; you need to put them together first.
From your inventory, click and drag one half of the cog onto the other; you'll get a fully assembled cog.
Place the complete cog into the recess.

Solving the puzzle opens the door, allowing you to proceed inside.

Power Generator Room

Analyze the situation.

You're face-to-face with another locked gate. As with this and all future obstacles, you'll need to find a key or solve a puzzle.
Note the big blue power generator to your right.
Also note the big red button on the big blue generator that reads “START-STOP” in big friendly letters.
Pressing the button doesn't start the generator. You'll have to perform some extra steps first.

Search for answers.

Examine the yellow fusebox. Click while close up to open it.
Note the six switches inside. You'll need to flip these to the correct positions.
The code is noted somewhere in this room. Look around some more.
Examine the wooden desk to the left of the fusebox.
Open the book titled 'MIA Generator'.
Take note of the diagram of six switches flipped into a specific configuration.

Find puzzles to solve.

Return to the fusebox, and click and drag the switches such that their positions match the diagram in the handbook.
Solution:Down, down, up, up, down, up.
There seems to be no effect. Another step is required.
Notice the cables from the fusebox, and follow them to see where they lead.
In the lower left-hand corner of the front of the generator is another set of six switches.
Set these switches such that their positions match the lower right-hand diagram in the handbook.
Still nothing happens. Yet another step is required.
Look carefully at the walls; the missing piece is hidden in the shadows.
You'll find what you need in the corner opposite from where you entered.
There's a third set of six switches, just above the handle of a leaning broom.
Set these switches such that their positions match the lower right-hand diagram in the handbook.
The door to the barred-off area of the generator room swings open. It's probably not the effect you were hoping for, but progress is progress. Enter the new room.

Search the barred-off area.

There's a wooden box in front of you. Try to open it.
It's locked, and there's no keyhole. You need to find something in this room which opens it.
Look at the wall to your left to find what you need.
There's a lever on the wall. Pull it, and the box opens.
Examine the open box, and take the strange object inside.

Use the strange object.

Place the device where it belongs. If you're not sure where that is, consult the book on the wooden desk again.
The device is called a 'multiphasic regulator'. Use the diagram to find out where it belongs.
On the diagram, look to the part labeled 'III'.
If you can't put the multiphasic regulator in the generator, then you need to set the multiphasic regulator correctly.
Click on the multiphasic regulator in your inventory to examine it closely.
Rotate the tumblers on the multiphasic regulator to the correct positions.
To figure out the correct tumbler positions, look at the slot on the generator again.
Note the roman numerals on the left and right sides of the slot.
You need to set the tumblers such that a line connects both numeral ones, a line connects both numeral twos, and a line connects both numeral threes.
Solution:
With the tumblers in the correct positions, place the multiphasic regulator in the slot.
Press the big red button. The generator roars to life, and the power turns on.
Finally, the gate to the next area opens. Proceed to the Main Halls of the castle.

3 Comments

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Wheel Warrior 21 Aug, 2023 @ 2:50pm

I got done with this area, before I saw this. This is wonderful. I would continue on with that if I were you

hollar.sue 19 Jun, 2021 @ 9:57am

Please finish this. It is awesome!

MakoSipper 2 Dec, 2019 @ 12:14pm

Shame you dropped this idea, I'm a big fan of that type of guide, and I was just looking for a soft hint, but for after the generator room.

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