Dark Portal Help (contains spoilers)

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 12:36 pm

Hmm, i take it you have not got passed the cyclops then? Or the troll?

The ra key is obvious when you get to the area to use it

You need the iron key to get the item to get passed the cyclops - the iron key being in the spellbook trap near the start

To gte to the cyclops, you need to get passed the troll - but if you have the ra key, you know how to kill the troll

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 12:50 pm

Linflas: The lucky item is infact lying in plain sight but easy to overlook, go riiiiiight the way back to the three mirror room and search.

Edit - speaking of the mirror area, if you dropped the mace when you smashed the mirrors, you might want to pick it back up...for the DM like actions that might see you well with the rod situation...

Post by **Gambit37** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 12:53 pm

No cyclops or troll in this game... there's nothing else to do. I'm wandering aimlessly.

The only unexplored paths are the pit near the silver arrow which I can't cross, and the door at the end of the fires hall which I can't open.

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 12:58 pm

Oh, i thought how you were talking you'd done that bit! That's the ruby key bit - you need to climb out of the pit on the other side, (you can ell how the corridor bends, just turn left when you climb down)

The solution to this bit is in your basic powers, not item based

Post by **Gambit37** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:03 pm

Pretty sure I tried climbing out of the pit every which way but will try again!

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:09 pm

It should work - and linflas/gambit - you need to solve the lighting area with rod to defeat the coayl - so don't worry about the snake , it only gives you one part of the final item

Post by **Gambit37** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:54 pm

Pit is passed -- now progressing properly! Not entirely sure what went wrong there!

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 2:43 pm

easy to get turned around!

Post by **Gambit37** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 3:23 pm

Hmmm.. I seem to be missing the star/bladed sun to despatch the flying eye?

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 3:33 pm

Sneaky one this - pretty much everything can be interracted with, don't assume pretty decorations are there just to look pretty, many things can be altered with the correct elemental application...

Post by **Gambit37** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 3:43 pm

Do you mean wall decorations or an item I've found that hasn't been used yet?

I don't recall being stumped by this one before, either. I must be getting old!

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 3:48 pm

wall decorations... taoesteies and lamps are pretty, aren't they...

Post by **Gambit37** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 3:51 pm

OK... got it --- weird, I totally don't recall that!

EDIT: Finished! Ta for the help -- clearly my memory and logic centres are beginning to fail...

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 4:05 pm

glad to be of service

Post by **Sophia** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 7:41 pm

Were you able to get past the trouble spots, Gambit?

I haven't touched this dungeon in ages. It was compiled for an old version of RTC, so I hope it's not a case of a puzzle solution not working because something is simply broken on the current version.

Post by **Gambit37** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 7:46 pm

I played it with 0.43, so it's not a problem with the dungeon -- just problems with the player!

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 9:01 pm

I played it under 0.49 and it still works like a charm

Those monster noises for the worm and behemoth are incredible! Wherever did you find those? The person who made those must be some form of genius

Trantor · Post by **Trantor** » Sun Oct 19, 2008 10:45 pm

Even I finally started playing DP, and it made me realize how impatient and stupid I am. It's a very cool dungeon, there are great puzzles in here. I'm also very impressed how much RTC could be pushed, you did an amazing job here Sophia!

I probably won't finish it, though, because even with this thread, I am absolutely clueless how to approach the altar and showing my true faith. I also don't have an item to kill the Gazer (Shuriken maybe? No idea where though), got the Wand without solving the "lightling" riddle by accident, but have no clue what to do with it... I also found a dead grey lord, and I'm missing something with teeth, arms and a spine. That's as far as I got even with this thread. *sigh*

Daecon · Post by **Daecon** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 6:26 am

Humility is a virtue. (As in humble, not as in embarrassment.)

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 6:30 am

True faith:

Spoiler

There is no way to prove true faith...and certainly waring anything austentacious would harm your case

Evil eye:

Spoiler

I bet you haven't interacted with everything - many seemingly solid wall objects can meet their end, usually by using an opposed element. For the shuriken, you need to find it's hiding place close to to the area, around the prison area

Wand:

Spoiler

You obviously did not find a way over the brittle grate earlier - you needed to be supernaturally light to walk over it

Grey lord:

Spoiler

He's a king, but looks less than regal - his hand is looking shockingly common, perhaps a few regal items might rectify that

Teeth, arms and spine - ??? What would you need those for?

Trantor · Post by **Trantor** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 7:53 am

Thanks for your help. I tried dropping the cross and my clothes; I just didn't think of emptying my whole inventory. I also feel stupid for not finding the Star. Did get along a bit further up to a ZO lock. I'd also still like to find the wand properly.

Beo, I did get over the brittle grate, I just don't see any connection to the wand. And I need a thing with teeth, arms and spine for the last riddle in the riddle room.

Post by **Sophia** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 7:37 pm

For the "teeth, arms, and a spine," try thinking more literally. The answer has probably stared you in the face several times.

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 8:05 pm

Ah, of course, sorry - i thought you needed three items, not one.

Spoiler

I reckon you might even have seen it, depending on your character's party position, right before each ending

And if you went over the brittle grate, then something really annoying surely happened... something tied in to the ingraving on the wand?

Trantor · Post by **Trantor** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:08 pm

Ok, I was really stupid with the teeth, arms and spine thing - I supposed it would be more obscure, like the nose-puzzle (has a wing but cannot fly, runs but cannot move etc... actually, that may not make sense if you don't speak German). Also, I found out what to do with the wand, but will pretend for now that I didn't since I still have no clue how to get the wand without the bug I accidentally abused. So now I'd like to find some sort of metal rod and know what the hell I should do with the Magic Box (fire seems to be no use), the Crystal Blade (might need something for the ZO lock?), the Horn, the Silver Orb or the Talisman... Man, this dungeon is so frustrating. Or I'm such a bad player. Or both.

EDIT: Ah, I finally found the scroll that told me what to do in the beginning of it all. It would seem I'm not far from the end if I find the wand properly. Still I don't feel like I accomplished much.

EDIT 2: Ok, found out what the Magic Box was for...

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:51 pm

Cool - so really, you just need to go all frustrated angry and try to get an iron bar from somewhere - even if the iron bar is reasonably happy where it is just now, looking around at its fellows...

Trantor · Post by **Trantor** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:58 pm

Thanks Beo, this certainly gets a nomination for THE most evil puzzle in this evil dungeon of evil puzzles. If you don't notice it the first time you visit it, you are likely to never see it at all.

Ok, have all the items the correct way now it seems. Now what to do about the behemoth...

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 8:17 pm

It's got a great growl!

And yeah, i love how some puzzles are so anti-DM you just don't think of them (some sophia's evil, some from shadowgate itself, but that makes them great under DM)

And then,. just when you rule out DM mechanics - bang! A DM-like puzzle to fool you again!

Post by **Sophia** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 8:29 pm

I am sneaky.

And yes, the growl is great. I would like to find the voice actor who produced that great growl and congratulate him. If only I knew where he was... perhaps he plays for the local sports team...

Trantor · Post by **Trantor** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 8:33 pm

Even though I am 2.5 years late for the party, I still want to let you know what I think of Dark Portal.

Gameplay: 8
Gameplay is vastly different from any other dungeon out there, as Dark Portal is a true puzzle dungeon - no fights at all, no point in gaining experience. The puzzles displayed are usually very un-DM-like, but logical.

Originality: 10
I think you can't get more original in a DM clone than this. The puzzles themselves are highly original and often contain stuff you wouldn't think of in DM.

Difficulty: 9
The length of this thread alone should tell you that it is very easy to get stuck in DP. Though the puzzles are logical if you break them down, some of them are rather obscure. Also, it is often very hard to tell whether something is just decoration or a vital puzzle. Very evil indeed.

Puzzles: 10
An incredible amount of fantastic puzzles that blow the usual DM scope out of proportion. This is what the dungeon is all about, and it certainly doesn't disappoint.

Size: 5
If you know your way, I'd say that DP is solvable in less than 20 minutes. It's really tiny. The dungeon is so dense with hard puzzles, though, that you will be playing for what seems like forever.

Replayability: 5
The only reason to replay this would be looking at the marvelous design and puzzles again. What enhances replay value is the fact that the dungeon is very quick to solve if you know your way around.

Craft: 10
It's absolutely stunning what RTC is capable of. DP showcases how you can use the existing mechanics in an incredibly innovative way. You often don't get a solution for a puzzle because you simply cannot imagine it possible in DM.

Game Ending: 6
One more puzzle that is rather easy to figure out, but with a cool boss monster and a nice little text. It's fine.

Atmosphere: 9
The plot is quite nice, but what really makes the atmosphere amazing is the amount of descriptive text you get about locations, monsters and puzzles and the great sound effects (some from Doom, some from Quake, and more).

Overall: 9
Though I feel almost too stupid for this dungeon, I can't deny it's fantastic. It's not a real DM-dungeon, though, more a completely different game that happens to look and play like DM. I still prefer a great traditional DM dungeon over this, but I cannot help marvelling at its innovation, design, and craft. Truly a wonderful and completely different experience!

Best part:
Hard to tell because the dungeon is very small and really good from start to finish; maybe the lab.

Worst part:
I thought two puzzles were especially evil, the altar you had to approach with true faith (for being so obscure) and finding the item needed to get the wand (because the puzzle itself becomes invisible if you don't realize you are looking at a puzzle the first time around).

Broken_Paladin · Post by **Broken_Paladin** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 8:37 pm

Good review keep up good work with the reviews. =)