sigma@PAWL.RPI.EDU (Kevin J Martin) (01/16/90)
About Starflight II... When you talk to Gorzek (orbiting the gas giant), he indicates that the two best sources of information concerning the current location of the Most Valuable Thing are 1) the Spemin finks, and 2) Humna^2. You can trick the Spemin into revealing a coordinate location on Bemfblunk (I believe) which is totally useless, since they sold the MVT to G'Nunk. If you talk to Humna^2, and be really nice to them, and give them the Shyneum they cordially request, they will most likely reveal the location of the MVT on the G'Nunk planet, if you probe them about "other beings," I believe. Then you can just hop in (run away from the orbiting warships), snatch it, and run back to the Tandelou. (Note that you have to give it to one of their ships; believe it or not, at a trading post, the trader says he's not interested in trading for it!) After this, Gorzek will be more free with its information about itself and the past, which is useful when you want to hit the anomaly. You can also find out where the Leghk and Umanu home worlds are, but I haven't followed up on this yet. Incidentally, using the anomaly (244,148?) resets the trade counters, so that you can run a full trade circuit of valued items again, in case you've depleted their stocks. On the same topic, has anyone managed to defeat the G'Nunk warships in orbit? I've heard that doing so is the only way to convince the G'Nunk that you're G'Nasch, so they'll trade with you. I tried twice, and then gave up. Also, where do we find nid berry bushes that the Dweenle are so fond of? I found some once, but now they want some more... New games: Mechwarrior from Activision. - Not bad, I'd say. I'd judge it to be virtually impossible to complete within its tight five year limit. Not only do you have to go through lots of missions to gain reputation and earn money to get better Mechs, you also have to go trouncing all across the galaxy (carrying your heavy and expensive-to-transport Mechs) in order to follow the storyline, starting with the Grig Griez News article. But at the very end, you have to face four Battlemasters and a Warhammer (nasty lance of Assault/Heavy Mechs), twice in a row without repairs in between. I don't see how you could possibly do this within five years. I enjoyed the game much more just by editing a saved game to give myself over a billion C-bills, and then I could have whatever sort of Mechs or missions I wanted. A good simulation, overall. Cycles from Accolade - Looks like Grand Prix Circuit, which is hardly surprising. I'd bet that their forthcoming speedboat game will look familiar too, because they all seem to be done by a company called DSI. The simulation is good, except for the fact that it's almost impossible to fall off your bike. On the first two levels (all I've really played so far), the worst you can do is "spin out," and even then you have to try pretty hard to do it. In a couple of spots it's to your advantage to run off the road and cut a corner. One good addition, an improvement over Grand Prix, is the fact that hills are represented, with the associated loss of momentum uphill, and a higher topspeed downhill. Hero's Quest I from Sierra - More like the other Quests than I had expected. You actually control your character in the same fashion as most Sierra games, and the game, overall, presents a challenge. I've found one awful bug, though - if you go into the graveyard and wait for nightfall (this becomes necessary at one point), you cannot leave the graveyard without a game crash. So I'm stuck. Incidentally, if anyone has hints for this game, I'm interested. A note on Leisure Suit Larry III - does anyone know what extra snooping around you have to do with your divorce papers in order to get the last ten or fifteen points I'm lacking? Kevin Martin sigma@pawl.rpi.edu