Commando Raid hints

Started by fernewelten, Mon 04/06/2018 22:52:08

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fernewelten

Dear Community,


The Point and Click adventure “The Devious and Daring Commando Raid of Linkattus, the Lowly Janitor Rat, In Order to Free Ratzelda, the Princess of His Dreams, And to Get Her, Too” (short: Commando raid) is out.

If you offer an adventure, you always run the risk of your players overlooking something or of thinking in another direction than the author's strange and warped imagination. So I've dropped some hints below.

All the hidden sections except for the last one contain hidden subsections. So un-hide a question that most fits your problem and then un-hide the answer to the best fitting subquestion.

If you need more tips, just ask here in this thread, and I'll do my best to help!


How do I get the key to the cleaning cabinet?
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1.
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Have you examined everything, particularly near the cabinet?
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Yes, but no luck?
2.
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Try disturbing the boss again, _after_ your examination of the items on the _floor_ near the cabinet.
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And?
3.
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You'll get an audio clue when the boss comes out of the door. A clinkling sound ... Something might happen right then...
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So that means in plain words?
4.
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There's a largish floor pocket near the cabinet. LOOK into it. Then INTERACT with the management door. Boss will come out and drop his key into the floor pocket. Finish the dialogue in any way you like, then INTERACT with the floor pocket, and Linkattus will pick up the cabinet key.
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There must be more in the very first room than meets the eye. How do I see it?
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1.
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So something must be in front.
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Yes?
2.
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You saw Linkattus come into the room right at the start of the game? How did he do it?
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what about it?
3.
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Try closing the sewer room door (right wall). You'll need to click on the door _handle_, and Linkattus must be fairly near (if he's on the right side of the water, he'll be fine).
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How do I get the mop?
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1.
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LOOK at things (right-click), don't only INTERACT with them (left-click).
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Good general advice; what does this mean here in particular?
2.
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A bag hangs on the sewer entry door (right wall). You'll only see it when the door is closed. (See the question "meets the eye" above when you have trouble closing the door.) LOOK at it and Linkattus will discover the mop head inside.
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But that only gets me half-way. And the other half?
3.
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What's visible in the room that might fit into the hole of a mop head?
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Well, Linkattus can't pick it up. He says so.
4.
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The _fourth_ iron bar in the back wall is _not_ cemented in the wall, so Linkattus can pick that up.
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When I have the tools, how do I start cleaning?
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1.
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COMBINE the suitably assembled mop with the suitably prepared bucket.
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How do I prepare the bucket?
2.
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It needs water and soap.
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How do I assemble the mop?
3.
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You need to combine the mop head with three iron bars. Any sequence will do.
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But I can get at only one of them?
4.
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You can get the other iron bars by wielding the first bar. This will only work when you wield an iron bar. (Linkattus will tell you that.) However, if your iron bar is already combined with the mop head, disassemble that construction by combining the mop with itself. Then pick up the single bar and click on the bars at the back wall.
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How do I get out of the first room?
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1. Leaving prematurely is a firing offense. What would give Linkattus good reason to leave even though?
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The ransom letter - it will be delivered immediately after the room is cleaned.
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2. So where's the proper exit?
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You won't pass through the doors or swim the sewage canals. So there's only one other option.
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3. How do I get there?
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You can't affix anything to the shaft, so you'll have to get something to the wall that will start from the floor in front of the shaft.
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4. But I haven't got anything at hand that is long enough?
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Well, you've just solved a problem where something had to be just the right length. A similar approach should work here.
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5. So I've adjusted the length; what do I do with it now?
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(a)
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You don't want to _clean_ the back wall. Sometimes less is more.
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(b) And what does this mean specifically?
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For this specific task, you mustn't have the mop head affixed to the iron bars. So start by disassembling the mop (combine it with itself in the inventory). Then just combine iron bars with iron bars.
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6. How do I make use of my item?
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(a)
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Note that the LOOK function is available in the inventory, too. When the mop head is removed and the stick has maximal length, does Linkattus' description remind you of a specific sport?
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(b) And where do I put my sports equipment?
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Remember how you retrieved the bucket and soft soap? How did you do it?
(Technical note: Do you have trouble "clicking" on the right spot of the room whilst "holding" the item? The cursor icon for this equipment is very large, so it might be a bit hard to navigate it over the exact spot you want to click on. Simply move it around a bit until the bottom line announces the right spot.)
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(c) I don't get it.
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Don't affix the mop head to the bars (or if you have, disassemble the construction by combining it with itself). COMBINE 5 iron bars into a pole and put that pole into the floor pocket where you took the cabinet key out.  (It's a big pocket surrounded by a fine grey line to the left of the cabinet.)  INTERACT with the pole to pole-jump to the exit.
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7. I can't get hold of the map. What do I do?
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(a) Does Linkattus _know_ (in this game run) that he'll need a map? How can he learn that?
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The way out of the sewers is through the shaft at the back wall. When asked about the shaft, Boss will tell Linkattus that he needs a map.
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(b) But I can't find any map after diligently searching the room?
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Linkattus is content with a piece of paper. Where would he find paper in this room?
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(c) I can't think of anything that would fit the bill.
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Retrieve the rota from the side of the cabinet. _After_ the ransom letter has arrived and _after_ Linkattus has learned that the way out involves a maze, Linkattus will do it and risk being fired.
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7. How do I get the daily rota?
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(a) Snagging the daily rota is potentially a firing offence, Linkattus says that. So …
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… can you give Linkattus a reason to _want_ that rota even though?
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(b) So how do I do that?
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The ransom letter must have arrived (which happens directly after the room is cleaned). Linkattus must know that the shaft leads out of the sewers by way of a maze (by asking the boss about it). Then he'll need the backside of the rota to write his map on.

When the preconditions above are fulfilled, INTERACT with the rota and Linkattus will take it from the wall.
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How do I navigate the maze?
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(a) What doors do i need to click on, what rooms do I need to pass?
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The maze is randomly generated in each game, so I don't know, either. Sorry about that!
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(b) Somehow I run into trouble drawing my map. What gives?
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If you LOOK at a room label, Linkattus will point out that all the labels are different. He's quite right about that. However, note that some room names have a dash, some haven't. Room L97 is different from room L-97. I suggest saying the dash explicitly when reading the room names, so say "El dash ninety-seven" instead of "El ninety-seven" to ensure that the dash doesn't get dropped.

Note to native-German speakers: We have a confusing way of saying double-digit numbers: "seven-and-ninety" instead of "ninety-seven". This might lead to transposed characters in your map. Counteract that by reading the room names character by character: "El dash nine seven" instead of "El dash seven-and-ninety".
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(c) Any map making tips?
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Don't just make circles for the rooms and arks for the connections. Write at the respective ends of the arks what specific doors they belong to (the door letters, if there are any; or "1st", "2nd" etc., or for specifically the lift, the storey and the door number).
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(d) Is there any way to speed Linkattus up?
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I've tried very hard to make the AGS functionality work that makes a character speed to their end position when a key is hit, but I failed: It doesn't seem to work with blocking walks. The work-around I put in jumps a character in a straight bee line towards their goal when you hit the escape key. They'll walk normally towards their goal from there on. So your mileage will vary dependent on the geography of the area. Wiggly routes and small strips of walkable area work worse than straight routes and wide walkable areas.

By all means, try hitting "ESC" to speed Linkattus up, perhaps repeatedly.
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How do I get past Kitty?
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1.
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You can't sneak past her; she'll jump in front of you as soon as you near the line. So you'll have to interact in the usual two ways: talk to her (left-click without holding something) or give her something (take up an inventory item and left-click the cat while holding it).
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2. When I talk to her, she wants me to give her the fish, and I don't have them. I can't offer anything instead that will placate her.
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But there's only one item you can offer her that will provoke Linkattus to give a specific comment after the dialog.
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3. Okay, I've determined the item I want to use, how do I use it?
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Where would you relocate that “ball” (soft soap) to entice Kitty to go away?
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4. So tell me what to do with it.
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Throw the soft soap to the cat flap over the door.
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How do I continue the screens after Linkattus has retrieved Ratzelda?
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The monologues are endless. Look at them as long as you like and then hit the red "..." button at any time when you're done watching.
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lanchong

Thanks for being so proactive. That's very helpful !

Slasher

Hi
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Getting the rota off the cleaning cupboard. How?
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fernewelten

#3
Quote from: Slasher on Sat 09/06/2018 06:05:17
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Getting the rota off the cleaning cupboard. How?
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I've amended the hints list. Thanks for pointing out this missing bit to me! So here goes...

Snagging the daily rota is potentially a firing offence, Linkattus says that. So …
Spoiler

… can you give Linkattus a reason to _want_ that rota even though?
[close]

(b) How do I do that?
Spoiler

The ransom letter must have arrived (which happens directly after the room is cleaned). Linkattus must know that the shaft leads out of the sewers by way of a maze (by asking the boss about it). Then he'll need the backside of the rota to write his map on.

When the preconditions are fulfilled, INTERACT with the rota and Linkattus will simply take it from the wall.
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Slasher

Hi

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The ransom letter must have arrived (which happens directly after the room is cleaned)..

How do you clean room.. no reactions from mop... letter does not appear.
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Mandle

#5
Quote from: Slasher on Sun 10/06/2018 15:31:05
Hi

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The ransom letter must have arrived (which happens directly after the room is cleaned)..

How do you clean room.. no reactions from mop... letter does not appear.
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You must first have...

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A bucket of soapy water.
A workable mop. (not too long, not too short)
Combine them.
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Slasher

#6
Hi Mandle

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Bucket done. Do you mean maybe 2 bars on the mop?

tried 1, 2, 3 bars on mop head but only says about mop upside down or something. I've used it all over floor...
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EDIT  Ok.. now started maze...

Blondbraid

I can't continue the game, there is some kind of bug where the inventory icon simply disappears after reading the letter.


fernewelten

#8
Quote from: Blondbraid on Sun 24/06/2018 22:32:45
I can't continue the game, there is some kind of bug where the inventory icon simply disappears after reading the letter.

I'm having trouble reproducing the error, but you probably mean that the inventory closes and the "hamburger" menu (red button with white horizontal lines) doesn't pop up in its stead. You're right that this is a bug.

As a quick workaround, can you get the inventory to pop up by hitting the "i" key?


Edit: I think I have found a way to reproduce the bug: When Linkattus has the ransom letter,
  • open the menu by clicking the "hamburger" button (thus, the inventory is open and the "hamburger" button is invisible);
  • right-click on the ransom letter;
  • whilst having the mouse over the inventory, hit the "i" key (thus, the inventory GUI closes)
  • close the ransom letter by hitting the "X"
Result: The "hamburger" button AND the menu GUI is gone. This is a bug.

The following workaround should restore the interface to normal: Hit either "i" or TAB on the keyboard, this should open the inventory; close the inventory with the topmost red button of the inventory. Now you should be able to continue playing normally.

You should be able to toggle the inventory open/closed with the "i" key at any time (until you reach the end screens after leaving the kitchen).


cat

Wow, that maze is huge!
Any tips? I've visited most rooms, I think. There is a key, but I cannot take it. What is the goal of the maze?

Btw, I also had the bug with the vanishing inventory that Blondbraid has mentioned, but I could circumvent it with your workaround.

Cassiebsg

As far as I remember, you need to get the key, otherwise you won't be able to open the door that lets you leave.
But I can't remember if there is something else you need to do to get the key. You can't get it because you haven't found how to get to that room, or cause it won't let you take it before doing something else?

Sorry, it has been a long time since I played it and I no longer remember everything.  (roll)
There are those who believe that life here began out there...

fernewelten

#11
Quote from: cat on Mon 18/02/2019 21:01:06
There is a key, but I cannot take it.

Sorry, just saw this thread right now.
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Try to leave the maze: Try to open the door in the room with the long stairs on the left side. By that, Linkattus will learn that he needs the key and will want to take it. So now go retrieve the key.
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