realMYST 3D By Brian Urtz II>><>II>><>II>><>II Revision History: 1.0 - First version 1.1 - Added more info on the voltage for the Power Plant, and made some minor specifications. 1.2 - Corrected some mistakes in the Selenitic and Mechanical Ages. Also corrected some spelling mistakes. 1.3 - Corrected some mistakes in Channelwood and Rime (submitted by Vincent). 1.4 - Just a minor change with the Roman Numerals. 1.5 - Due to a couple e-mails concerning the Mechanical Age elevator, I've added more info on that. 1.6 - A couple more changes brought to light by Ian. 1.7 - Made a lot of additions, corrections, and changes here and there. Also a new FAQ section. 1.8 - Added more FAQs, made some corrections, and added some stuff in the e-mail section. 1.9 - Finaly gave some helpful tips on the much-hated note-matching puzzle in the spaceship. 2.0 - Fixed some small errors and spoilers. 2.1 - Some very minor updates - fixed a spoiler 2.2 - Clarified the Stoneship Age, was getting e-mails every week on it. 2.3 - New update regarding the Rime crystals due to e-mails over the past two years. This will only be sent to GameFAQs.com because I've lost track of which sites hold my guide, but if you have an old version of this guide on your site, please update it, you don't need to ask permission. Thanks. Table of Contents: I. Story II. Controls III. Basics IV. Myst Island V. Stoneship Age VI. Channelwood Age VII. Mechanical Age VIII. Selenitic Age IX. Rime Age X. HELP! XIa. FAQs XIb. Crystal FAQ** XII. Extra XIII. Copyright II>><>II>><>II>><>II READ THIS! - The point of this guide is to not only tell you how to beat it, but let you understand what you are doing and why. I am also giving you the option to partially figure the game out by yourself (just never look at the help section). And, if you still don't want to use the strategy guide, just look at the tip at the beginning of the section for the Age you're having trouble with. Only two Ages have tips though. P.S. This guide can also be used for the original Myst, but you cannot access Rime in that version. (If the frequencies in Selenitic are wrong see the FAQs section.) I. Story Myst's story line can be very confusing if you don't have the basic plot down correctly. Here is the story line up to the very beginning of the game: In the Age of Myst Island, Atrus lives with his wife, Catherine (Katrin), and his two sons, Sirrus and Achenar. Supposedly, one of the two sons has destroyed all of Atrus's books. These books are actually links to other worlds, and it took Atrus a very long time to write each of them. The two sons trapped their father in an Age without a linking book...a book needed to get back to where he started, which would be Myst Island. Somehow, the brothers each got trapped in separate books, and pages from those books were scattered throughout the remaining Ages. In order to get out of the Ages they are trapped in, the books must have every page, and that is where you come in. Here is something found in the game manual that explains how you got into the story: "You have stumbled upon a most intriguing book: a book titled Myst. You have no idea where it came from, who wrote it, or how old it is. Its pages contain only a superbly crafted description of an island world. But it's just a book, isn't it? As you open the book, you are startled by a picture of an island. The picture seems a little too real; in fact, the picture seems to be moving. In disbelief, you place your hand on the picture. Suddenly...your own world dissolves into blackness, replaced with the island world the pages described. Now you're here, wherever here is, with no option but to explore..." To fill in gaps and questions, you can read the following books: Myst: The Book of Atrus (the best one to read for information, but out of print, so try the library or a used book store) Myst: The Book of Ti'ana Myst: The Book of D'ni or the following games: Riven: The Sequel to Myst Myst III: Exile II>><>II>><>II>><>II II. Controls For the most part, the controls for realMYST and the original version of Myst are very different. The original Myst was a point-and-click game, this version gives you 360 degrees of movement, the ability to look up and down whenever you want, and the option to wander of the path and explore areas previously restricted. For instance, if you go off into the forest on Myst island, you can find the grave of Ti'ana. I would tell who that was...but it would ruin "Myst: The Book of Atrus" if you are or will be reading it. The basic controls are right mouse click to go forward, left to go backward, and you can use the arrow keys for movement as well...which is much easier in my opinion, since you don't have to be fast in this game. II>><>II>><>II>><>II III. Basics This is the section for things that aren't significant enough to have their own section, but should definitely be mentioned. First of all, realMYST is an excellent enhancement to the original. Things like amazing graphics and 360ø rotation add to the adventure, but the thing that makes it so different is the night/day and weather conditions. After walking around a bit, you'll notice that it does get darker, and it can rain or snow, depending on the Age you're in. Even if you have the original Myst, this will be a great investment. You won't be disappointed. The next thing I wanted to mention is how to work the library tower rotator. All around the island are marker switches. Up is on, and down is off. In the library you will notice a map of Myst island. If a switch is on anywhere on the island, that area will be available to view in detail on this map. There are four special markers, one for each of the first four Ages. On the map, click on the circle, which represents the tower, and hold it. This rotates the tower to face wherever the line is pointing. If the line points to a special marker, it will turn red. Stop rotating the tower if it turns red. On another wall in the library, there is a picture of a doorway in the bookshelf. Click that picture to open the tower entrance. Go to where the bookcase was and head through the tunnel until you get to an elevator, take the elevator up to the tower. There will be two ladders. If the line on the map was red, these ladders will give you a clue on how to get into an Age. The ladder with the book icon will show you the entrance to the Age. The ladder with the key icon will lead you to a very important clue, such as the combination to a safe. To get out of the library, click on the picture of a doorway. Always remember these steps, it will help you get into each Age. II>><>II>><>II>><>II IV. Myst Island TIP: If you're stuck, remember that the library tower (behind the bookcase) will almost always give you the answer. If all else fails, try the books. This section will help you get to the different Ages in the game. Most people give up too soon on this game to ever get to an Age. Stay with me here. I will separate this into sections on how to get into each Age...but, this walkthrough will not tell you exactly what to do. I will tell you how to figure out the puzzles, but I will not solve them for you. If you do get too frustrated, go to the Help section and I will solve the puzzles there...but I suggest that you use that section only as a last resort. Good luck! The Video Portal: In order to view the video in the cauldron in the room on the dock where you start out, find the letter on the ground by the planetarium. Read it and enter the number of marker switches in the panel in the cauldron room. When facing the cauldron, turn around and you will see the panel. Hit the green button to open it. Enter the number here, then hit the button. Go to the cauldron again and turn it on. Watch the video. Stoneship Age: This is definitely the most difficult Age to get into, but pretty easy once you get there. First of all, point the library tower so that it is pointing to the sunken ship where you first started. Go to the tower and go up the book, or locator ladder and make sure you can see the dock. Then go up the key, or clue ladder. You should see three dates engraved on a plate. Write them down. Next, head to the planetarium, the round building next to the library. Go inside and turn out the lights. The light switch is by the door. Sit down in the chair and put on the "star- finder". This is not a time machine, it just tells you what the stars look like on that specific date. Enter in the three dates and sketch the star patterns you see in the view screen. Head back to the library and find the Stoneship book in the bookcase. Find the patterns you sketched from the specific dates and memorize, or draw, the accompanying icons. Go outside and walk to the pillar yard. The pillars are at the entrance to the forest, around the sunken boat model. This boat represents the real boat at the dock. Light up the three pillar icons that accompanied the star patterns and there will be a draining sound. Look at the model ship, it should be surfaced. If not, make sure you copied the dates, star patterns, and icons correctly. Now go to the dock. If the model ship was resurfaced, so should the real one. Get on the ship and enter the cabin. There will be a book on a chair. Save your game, because once you enter an Age, you can't come back out until you've beaten it. Open the book and click on the portal. Channelwood Age: Getting into this Age can be very frustrating if not done exactly right. First line up the tower with the big tree in the middle of the forest. Go to the tower and go up the locator ladder to make sure you can see the tree. Then go to the clue ladder and write down the three-digit number. In the forest is a log cabin. Go inside, and by the door is a safe. Enter the three-digit number from the library tower into the safe and open it to find a matchbox. Strike a match against the box o light it, then light the furnace. Next to the furnace is a wheel. Turn the wheel all the way to the right and there will be a series of clanking sounds. Once the sounds stop, and I mean once all the clanks stop, not just one, turn the wheel back all the way to the left. Head out to the big tree. This is the only part in the game where you need to go fast, you have about ten seconds though, which is more than enough time. To get to the big tree fast, once out the door turn left and head to the back of the house. You should see it then. At the tree look up and you should see an elevator coming down. If you don't see the elevator, do the whole furnace thing again. You don't need a match though, I think it always stays lit from now on unless it is off, and it will light by itself when you turn it on again. Once on the elevator, it should keep going down. At the bottom is a small room with a book on the table. This book links to the Channelwood Age. Open the book and hop in! The wheel in the small room is just like the other one. Turn it left to bring it to the bottom, and right to bring it to the top. I suggest you don't touch the wheel in the small room, only in the log cabin. If there is no elevator when you are in the underground room though, turn the wheel all the way to the left. The button in the elevator will bring you to the surface, I think. Mechanical Age: This Age presents no problems whatsoever when trying to get in. First, point the library tower towards the giant gears by the dock. Go up the locator ladder to make sure you can see the gears, then go up the clue ladder and copy down the given time. Next head through the forest to the two wheels in front of the clock tower island. Figure out how the wheels work the clock (this is very simple) and set the clock to the correct time, the time you found in the library tower. Take the new bridge to the clock tower. Notice that there is one remaining switch here that was not accessible before. Hit this switch, and if you've hit all of the switches on the main island, the map in the library will now be complete. Inside the clock tower is a lever contraption. I don't remember where exactly you get the correct number to enter, maybe in the Mechanical book in the library, but mess around a little and you will find it. Figure out how the levers work the weight contraption and keep messing around with it until it drags both weights to the ground by it's self. Now head to the giant gears by the dock and go inside to find the Mechanical Age book. Selenitic Age: First off, line up the library tower with the spaceship on the far end of the island. As always, head up both ladders and mark down the number at the top of the clue ladder. Now go to the forest one more time. In the middle, take a right and go inside a brick building. Go all the way down to the bottom and wait for the lights to turn on, they will do this by themselves. Whatever you do, don't touch the buttons yet. Beside the door is a piece of paper that tells you the voltage value of each button. Figure out how to combine the buttons to equal the number you found in the library tower. If you accidentally go over the correct number, go outside behind the brick building and there is a ladder. Go up the ladder and hit the breaker switch to reset the voltage to 0. There is also a breaker switch to the left of the bridge leading to the spaceship. You may have to hit both breakers. Try one, and if it doesn't set back to zero, hit the other one as well. Once the voltage equals the right number, you can go inside the spaceship. But first go to the library and find the Selenitic book in the bookcase. Find the diagram of a piano and write down the order of keys to play. Once you have the right keys and the right order, go inside the spaceship. To the left are five meters. Now play the correct tunes on the piano on the right and match the meters to sound like the tune. To play the meters, pull the switch on the right. If you match the tunes perfectly, the Selenitic Age book will appear. Remember this is VERY hard, so if you get frustrated, just take a break. It's good to hold the note for a while and burn it into your mind. I got many e-mails about this, here's some advice I give to anyone who asks: "One way is if no one is around, hum the note to yourself after you play it and keep humming it until you get it matched, then do that for each note. Or you could play each not for a long time and get it stuck in your head until it drives you crazy. Then you might be able to match it. If none of that works, just try to find a note that could possibly be off, and move it one notch. Trial and error, just keep at it. Good luck!" Rime Age: First, I think you should try to figure this out by yourself, it's not that hard. But if you are really lazy or just can't find out what to do next, by all means, read on. First of all, you must beat this game the "correct" way. Once you have done that, The Rime age book will be lying on the floor of the library. Go to the very last page for some added information (in blue ink). Write down what is in blue, and also quickly write down what the pictures "tell you". Go to the video portal room, the big cauldron in the room by the dock, and open the number panel on the wall (see the Video Portal section). Enter the number shown in the Rime book (also the hologram test number which is shown on the front of the number panel when it's closed). When you have entered this, a mountain should appear in the cauldron. Now press the button that was circled in blue in the Rime book. Go back to the panel and there should be a new screen. Rotate the bridge joint. Now go to the area where the joint now points and go inside. Enter the "blue" number and press the red button. Go back to the library and voila! The Age is now before you! II>><>II>><>II>><>II V. Stoneship Age TIPS: Nuthing This is, in my opinion, the first Age you should go to, but any order is fine. The point of each Age is to find the page of whichever brother you want. Achenar is the crazy, "blue" one, with all the freaky contraptions. Sirrus is the rich "red" one with all the fancy furniture. The brothers each have a room in every Age (exept Selenitic). Their page will be in their room. First off, explore the area and get to know the place. It has been a while since I played this Age, so I don't completely remember everything. First of all, go to the surveillance scope and find the lighthouse in it. Write down the degree that you find it at. Next go to the umbrella boat. Find the switch that drains the lighthouse. Also note what the other switches do. One drains the lighthouse, one drains the tunnel, and the other drains the ship. Drain the lighthouse and go inside it. Go downstairs and flip the lever on the chest to empty all the water. Flip the lever again to close the valve back up to prevent water from getting back in. Go back to the umbrella boat and fill the lighthouse up again (by pressing a different button). At the lighthouse, the chest should be floating, now within reach of the chained key. Open the chest with the key to get another key, the key to the attic. Go to the attic and crank the battery up all the way. You should go drain the tunnel now. As fast as you can, go to the tunnel outside before the generator runs out of energy. The lights should now be on. If the lights are still off, go back and crank up the generator again. Once the lights are on, go to each of the brother's rooms and look around. Copy the torn note in one of Achenar's drawers, the one second to the bottom, and get the page of whichever brother you chose. In the middle of the tunnel is a passage with a compass. This is the only part of the game that I am going to give away, because I don't know how not to. Push the bottom right button on the compass. Remember how you found the lighthouse in the surveylance scope? It should have been at 135 degrees. On a compass, that should be the bottom right. Now once you have a page (choose carefully, this will be the brother you now "work for"), and the compass is set right, drain the ship and go inside. Go to the bottom of the ship's cabin. The returning, or "Linking" book should be there (you have to click on the table first). If not, the compass is set wrong. Once you get the linking book, take the page home with you and place it in the appropriate book in the library. II>><>II>><>II>><>II VI. Channelwood Age TIPS: This whole place is run by water, so you can listen and direct which way the water is going. Ah, the Channelwood Age. This place was really worked on when they made realMYST. Take the time to look around while you're here, go exploring. Once you're done, let's start our adventure. First thing's first. This entire level is run by hydroelectricity, so you're going to need water. First, you should start building a windmill...wait, that's already done for you (thank God), but you do have to turn the windmill on. Go to the windmill and turn on the valve, then hit the switch on the generator. No you should hear the sound of water going through the pipes. Follow the sound to figure out where the water is going. Hit the switches at the junctions to direct the water to the elevator generator (hey, it rhymes!). Take the elevator to the second floor (if you don't close the elevator door, like me, you'll be going no where fast). This is, in my opinion (and since I'm writing this guide my opinion counts), this is the hardest part of the game if you are too lazy to sketch the picture of the second floor back at Myst. If you're like me you'll be looking around for about a half-hour before you find the switch, but it's somewhere on a post in a round room. This opens the stair door. Takes the stairs and have the water directed to the elevator by the stairs. Now take the stairs back up and take the elevator to the THIRD floor (skydiving anyone?). Find the "page of your choice" and rest in the treetops for a while (my favorite place in the game). Before you go, check Sirrus's room. In the second bed drawer, the one on the right, is the second half of the note. Write this down. Sirrus's page is in the desk drawer and Achenar's is on the floor in the "recording" room. Now go back down to ground...or in this case water level and direct the water toward the "lone generator". Go across the steps and turn the crank to extend the pipe. Now direct the water, for the last time, toward the new extended pipe. Go back across to the other side of the pipe and go to the final elevator. Take the elevator to the linking book room and back to Myst. II>><>II>><>II>><>II VII. Mechanical Age TIP: Practice rotating the dome with the simulator. This Age is very small and short, all you have to do is learn how to use the dome rotation device, which is hard at first, but with practice it gets easier. OK, head to the dome and grab one of the brother's page. Sirrus's page is in a hidden room to the right of the throne, behind the bottom left corner of the hanging quilt. In Achenar's room there is a simulator with two levers. This is the dome rotation simulator. Start it up and you will se a diagram of the dome. The left lever has several settings, which sets the speed of the rotation, the right level must be held in position and rotates the dome at the speed it is set at. The objective is to get the line to stop at the different islands, there is one every 90 degrees. Mess around with it until you are able to make the dome rotate 90 degrees and stop there. Note that once you let go of the right lever the dome rotates backwards, so you must be fast. If you can't get it to work, see the Help section to find the easiest way to rotate the dome 90 degrees. Now to find the REAL dome rotator. Go to the elevator in the center of the dome. Push the red button on the wall and go down stairs. Turn the elevator until it is facing you. Go back outside and push the red button again to get to the elevator. If you are having trouble with this, like I did, then try lining up the elevator, and then keep turning it so it's lined up again. Go to the top floor, but do not leave the elevator. You'll notice that there is a middle button. At the top floor hit the middle button and get out of the elevator as fast as you can. Once the elevator goes down, turn around and there is the real dome rotation device. Use your method that you used at the simulator to turn the dome 90 degrees(hint: You'll hear a different sound for each direction, try to remember what each sound for each direction is, you'll need this later.). Once you think you've rotated 90 degrees, leave the dome. You should see a very small island. If not try again. Go to the island and write down the symbols. Now go back and rotate the tower another 90 degrees. Write down the numbers on this island and rotate the tower two more times. There is no third island, just return to the main island. Once back, make sure you have a page and enter the symbols into the...whatever it is. Push the red button and use the Linking book. II>><>II>><>II>><>II VIII. Selenitic Age TIP: Um...not much to say here. I'm pretty sure this is the final Age, because it is the hardest. First wander around and turn all the microphones on, there are only five (fire, water, crystal, wind, clock). Also, the brother's pages are both somewhere lying around. After you've turned them all on, head to where the wind microphone is and take the tunnel to the radio tower. Match the sound with the icon for all five sounds and push the Z button. Write down (or memorize) the order the sounds play. Go back to the door near the beginning and put the meters with the sounds in the right order. Go inside and hop into the earth sub. Once you start it up, you will be in a maze of intersections. At each intersection you'll hear a sound (push the red button to hear it again), they are the same sounds used when rotating the dome in Mechanical, so if you hear the sound that meant you've rotated to the north, point the sub north. If you hear two sounds at a time, like north and west, point northwest. If you don't remember, or couldn't figure out the sound-direction pairs in Mechanical, there is an easy solution. I'm pretty sure that all of the wrong directions are closed off, so just try not to turn yourself around. It is still a good idea to figure out what the directions mean first, just in case I'm wrong. At the end of the maze, get out and head back to Myst with the Linking book. Now that you have all the pages, put the two torn pages (that you've copied down) together and do what this says. Then go to the brother that has all five pages and he will tell you the correct diagram. The diagram book is the last book on the second shelf in the library. Find the diagram he told you about and sketch it down. Go into the fireplace and push the red button. The fireplace will close. Enter the diagram and push the red button again. If entered correctly the fireplace will turn around and there will be the two remaining pages and a green book (D'ni Age). If you have the yellow page, go into the green book. If not, get the yellow page. If you want to see a "bad" ending, enter D'ni without the yellow page, or return all 6 pages to a brother. (Achenar is the coolest...he's just plain crazy.) II>><>II>><>II>><>II IX. Rime Age TIP: Pretty easy, you're on you're own Now I'm sure the only reason you'd be reading this instead of a regular Myst guide is to find information on Rime. Well, there is no real trouble presented in this Age, but OK, here you go. First, on the side of the house is a gas valve. Turn this on and go inside to the furnace. Turn on the furnace, close the door to let the room heat up (thanks to Ian for realizing that), then go back and close the valve. Go inside and open the stone door. Enter the elevator and go up. Hit the lever to change the color you want and the switch to activate the aurora-maker. Once you finish watching that, go back into the elevator and push the RED button. Now go into the room and read the book if you want, it's just for extra info on Ages. Take the elevator down and there is a new room. On the table is a page written by Catharine. Write down (or memorize) the crystals' shape/color and enter that on the portal. (Click a crystal to change its shape and wave the mouse/hand over it to change its color.) Push the button to see a surprise! Well, sorry, that's it, hope ya had fun though! II>><>II>><>II>><>II X. HELP! So, you don't want to find the answers to the puzzles yourself? Fine, who am I to stop you?...Well actually I could stop you by not adding this section, but hey: --- Stoneship Age The three dates/icons are: Oct. 11, 1984 10:04 a.m. (snake); Jan. 17, 2107 5:46 a.m. (leaf); Nov. 23, 9791 6:57 p.m. (bug) Umbrella boat: Left button: Ship, Middle button: Tunnel, Right button: Lighthouse Compass Degrees: 135 degrees (the position the Lighthouse is in the surveying scope) --- Channelwood Age Safe combination: 724 --- Mechanical Age Clock Tower time: 2:40 Weight number: 221 The symbols are: 1. The circle with no bottom - 2. Down arrow | Up arrow - 3. Circle over water - 4. Half-Circle Rotation: The easiest way to rotate the dome is to put the left lever up 1/3 of the way, then hold the right one for 9 sec. --- Selenitic Age Power Plant Volts: 59 This can be added up with buttons 1,2,3,6,7,8,10 or 4,7,8,9. These are the button voltages: ______ 1 = 10 volts 2 = 7 volts 3 = 8 volts 4 = 16 volts 5 = 5 volts 6 = 1 volt 7 = 2 volts 8 = 22 volts 9 = 19 volts 10 = 9 volts ______ Frequencies (in order): Crystal - 18.7, Water - 122.1, Wind 196.3, Fire 99.4, Clock - 44.3 Earth-sub Maze: North-West-North-East-East-South-South-West-Southwest- West-Northwest-Northeast-North-Southeast --- Rime Age Hologram number: 40 Button location: Back of cauldron Device under library number: 2735 Crystal Patterns: Oh come on, it's right there! Oh well - Twin-Red, Medium-Green, Multi-LightBlue, Short-Yellow, Fork-LightPurple --- Torn Sheet: __________________________________________ Marker Swit ch Vault Access Isl and of Myst The vault is locat ed in very plain view on the island of Myst and access can be achieved very eas ily if the simple instructions are fol lowed. First, locate each of the marker switches on the island. Turn every one o f these switches to the "on" position. The n go to the dock and, as a final step, tu rn the marker switch there to th e "off" position. __________________________________________ This instructs you on how to find the yellow page. By the way, there are 8 marker switches. Here are the locations: Switch 1: At the dock Switch 2: By the big gear Switch 3: In front of the planetarium Switch 4: In the courtyard (the place with the sunken ship in a birdbath) Switch 5: In front of the spaceship Switch 6: Outside the cabin in the forest Switch 7: Next to the generator entrance in the forest Switch 8: Across the gear bridge at the clock-tower (must complete the clock puzzle) --- Simple Solution: So you just want to beat the game the easy way and get it over with? Oh come on you don't really want to read this do you? Okay, well, I'm warning you, think first before you use this solution... This is your LAST chance! Turn back before it's too late! Okay, so you want to use the simple solution? Fine, go ahead. First, set all eight switches to the "on" (up) position. Next, go back to the dock and turn the switch there to the "off" (down) position. Inside the now-revealed vault is the yellow page. Take the yellow page and go back to the library. Go into the fireplace and turn around. Close the door (never lock yourself in a fireplace in real life!) and enter diagram 158 found in the far right side of the second shelf in the library. Make sure you have the yellow page and go into the green book. That's it, you beat the game! II>><>II>><>II>><>II XI. FAQs Here are the answers to some things that you might be wondering: Q: What is the difference between Myst and realMYST 3D? A: realMYST, aside from having the extra Age, Rime, is made completely in Real 3D, which means you can move 360 degrees (including looking up and down)and wander off the path when you want to. It also has lighting (night/day and anything in between) and weather effects. Q: Is it worth $30 if I already have Myst? A: If you're a big Myst fan, yes, but it all depends on how much you really want it. Q: I have the original Myst and the frequencies in the Selenitic Age don't work. Why? A: From what I've seen, the frequencies are different. I don't know why, but they are on my game at least. Here are the frequencies for the original Myst game: Crystal - 15.0, Water - 153.4, Wind 212.2, Fire 130.3, Clock - 55.6 Q: In the forest there is a gravestone that says "Ti'ana". Who is Ti'ana? A: (see end of 'Thanks' section for answer, !!BOOK SPOILER!!) Q: Are there codes for realMYST? A: Other then the "simple solution", no. Q: I can't get the crystal pattern to work in Rime. What am I doing wrong? A: There are several different shapes that look alike, like the tall crystal and the medium crystal. And there are two shades of blue and purple, they are both the lighter shade. I'll describe it in more detail: First crystal: The double crystal shape, red in color. Second crystal: The medium single crystal shape, green in color. Third crystal: The crystal shape that has several spikes sticking out, light blue in color. Fourth crystal: The small single crystal shape, yellow in color. Fifth crystal: The crystal shape that starts as a single but looks split from the top, light purple in color. If you still can't get it after trying everything, I do have an autosave file with the correct crystal combination. Q: What should I see in the portal if I get all of the crystal patterns right? A: I'm not going to spoil the surprise, but if you get it right, you will not at any time see stars. It will be a clear picture. Q: When I play the game there are solid shapes and blank spots everwhere, what's going on? A: It could be that you used minimum installment. Reinstall it full and that should fix it. Be warned, you will lose you save files if you do this. Q: Is that all that's in Rime? The Aurora and the Crystal Machine? A: Yup. Well, that and that book in that little room, but pretty much. Sorry there wasn't more, nothing I can do. Q: My game freezes at, what can I do to fix this. A: Wish I could help you but I'm not ttoo good at that stuff, sorry. I COULD give some advise but I won't because it would be plain guessing. But if it shuts down when you try to pause, then I think you need to delete your saved games and reinstall, because that's what I had to do. Was good for me while it lasted though. When I had to answer a question I didn't know the answer to I had to go through the whole game to find it because I couldn't load/save, so now I'm even better at the game... Q: Is it supposed to be foggy in Mechanical? A: I think so. I can't remember but I've gotten a few e-mails asking that so it's probably purposful. If you have a good FAQ then send it in to me (cybersurge87@hotmail.com) and if I think it's interesting or important, I'll put it in! II>><>II>><>II>><>II XIIb. Crystal FAQ **NEW 2004** I last updated this guide sometime in 2001. Two years ago. I'm almost afraid to go back and look at this thing. But, over the last two years I've gotten countless e-mails regarding the crystals in the Rime Age. The first thing I would like to stress, is: No, there is nothing else after you finish the crystal pattern. The game is over. Sorry. The second thing, that was important enough to force me to go back here and update this thing, is the discovery made by several gamers that there is in fact another viewable world. If you notice, Atrus' journal in the room below the crystal room contains a colorless, four crystal pattern. A split crystal, a double crystal, a tall crystal, and a multi-spiked crystal (please forgive the descriptions, they're difficult shapes to describe). Then a 5th that has been washed away. The 5th one is actually the giant diamond shaped crystal, and if you enter this into the machine, regardless of color, it displays the show-covered mountain that appears in the cauldron when you enter 40 into the wall panel. But what makes this so special, is that when you change the colors, it changes the world and angle. Sometimes you will get a bird's-eye fly-by view of the island, sometimes you will see nothing but water, and sometimes you will get a still image of the mountain. It's actually pretty fun to mess around with the colors (although I'm still pretty convinced it's simply a semi-randomly generated result). The third thing I would like to add on to this guide, is clarity on the colors, and the order the crystal's color appears. I realize that some people who play this game may be colorblind, and that would make this part impossible. Take note, though, that the colors are very sensitive, and often I will accidently change it twice without noticing or hearing it. Be extremely careful, and I would recommend the use of save games. The colors appear as follows. Every crystal starts as a small red one when you first click its pedistal. --- Red Yellow Green Light Blue Dark Blue Light Purple --- Then back to Red. Now, in case I've used different names for the colors in previous sections, here's the order the crystals should be in order to view the Rime age (shapes are found elsewhere). Red, Green, Light Blue, Yellow, Light Purple. Anymore questions, email me. Pretty sure my e-mail is scattered around here in different places. By the way, thank you to the countless people who e-mailed me. If you feel you should be creditted for something, please tell me, I'd be happy to. II>><>II>><>II>><>II XII. Extra E-mail me at: cybersurge87@hotmail.com. E-mail that I accept: Suggestions: If you think there is something I should add/correct, just tell me. Compliments: Go ahead, if you think this is good, thanks! Requests: Still need help? Just e-mail me. Myst Help: I have beaten all the Myst games (except Uru), and I have read all of the books, so I can help with questions on those. Post: If you want to post this walkthrough on your site, just tell me. You don't even have to ask, just tell me your web sites URL. Complaints: Yes, I do exept complaints, but please state them nicely. I don't accept rude remarks or insults (see E-mail I don't accept). Spelling or Minor Corrections: If you see a spelling mistake or something else and feel like it's too minor to mention, don't worry, I don't mind at all. Just let me know. I've gotten a lot more e-mail than I ever expected (when the guide first came out I think I got about 1 or 2 a day, and fortunatly haven't gotten any "bad" e-mail), but I really enjoy answering the email. So no I'm not too busy to answer your e-mail, in fact, I encourage you to send one. E-mail I don't accept: Insults: If you don't like the guide, make a suggestion or just say so, but don't insult it (or me). Major Suggestions: Though there are exceptions, I will not completely redo a section just because you don't like it. Technical Help: I know nothing about that stuff; don't even ask, I have no idea. Well, that's all I can think of. Hope you liked this guide! Also, I'd like to thank Vincent for showing me a couple errors in the help page (the Channelwood safe combination and the numbers to enter into the device under the library), and I'd like to thank Hiryuu for pointing out that I had some of my Roman Numerals mixed up (just to be clear, I do know my roman numerals, hehe, just one of those mistakes you make when your lazy), and Ian for pointing out a couple mistakes (like having to close the door in Rime to let the room heat up and some clarification on how to get the yellow page.), Travis for finding a mistake in the Rime entrance code, and of course, Cyan and everyone else who was involved in creating the world of Myst. Answer to FAQ in FAQ section (!!!BOOK SPOILER!!! - READ BACKWARDS) (.koob neerg eht ,in'D ni yug eht si surtA) .rehtomdnarg 'surtA si ana'iT :A II>><>II>><>II>><>II XIII. Copyright This guide was made completely by me, so please do not take any credit where credit is not due. Please do not distribute this for money. Do not post this on any web site without asking me first. Just tell me the URL for the web site and make sure I get credit. DO NOT submit this to a web site without my permission. II>><>II>><>II>><>II THE END... "Once forgotten, now known to one. Fallen from a distant time into the hands of a stranger, now upon his shoulders." - From the K'jed Yah'im Brian Urtz cybersurge87@hotmail.com