One Million Years Dungeon

Started by Kara Jo Kalinowski, Wed 12/02/2025 03:48:43

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Kara Jo Kalinowski

@Falsely

I'm having trouble with a translation thing which might or might not be relevant, but finding it difficult.

I'm also having an issue with colors.

Spoiler
Trying to translate the ancient tablet...these characters are smaller and look different so I'm doing a lot of guessing.

So far I have

_ O D E _ E
B A R E L Y
K _ O C E R E

But several of those I'm not 100% sure on. Also I still don't have translations for G, J, Q, W, X, or Z at all.

I have no idea where to start with the orbs other than the painting upstairs, which seems really obscure hints if that's the case. I know that each orb room has a picture for a label.
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Falsely

Quote from: Kara Jo Kalinowski on Wed 12/02/2025 03:48:43@Falsely

I'm having trouble with a thing which might or might not be relevant, but finding it difficult.

Spoiler
Trying to translate the ancient tablet...these characters are smaller and look different so I'm doing a lot of guessing.

So far I have

_ O D E _ E
B A R E L Y
K _ O C E R E

But several of those I'm not 100% sure on. Also I still don't have translations for G, J, Q, W, X, or Z at all.

I have no idea where to start with the orbs other than the painting upstairs, which seems really obscure hints if that's the case. I know that each orb room has a picture for a label. I got the orb from the candle and the orb from the candy.
[close]


I am so sorry about this one, but it translates to:
Spoiler
GODERE? I BARELY KNOWERE
I, uh, needed to make the tablet look magical.
[close]

There's an in-game way to translate important text (although I'm delighted to see people can solve the extra ones on their own!) Check your inventory. If the game won't auto-translate it for you, it's something silly.

As for the orbs, some clues:
Spoiler
  • Once you've placed all the orbs, click the tablet to check your answers. It won't tell you how many you got right or wrong, but I know some people missed that so I'm leading with that hint first.
  • You're correct that the colours are related to the mural. Have you checked the game manual? There's a coloured picture of it there! ...Or there would be, if someone hadn't photocopied it in black and white. Hmm.
  • Most of the colours are explicitly stated in the manual's journal entry. One is explicitly stated in game.
  • The last player attempted to colour the emblem on the cover page in. If you can't see it on your screen: the heart is yellow, the dove is white, and the cup is green.
  • The last colour can be worked out through process of elimination.
[close]

If you're still stuck after that, let me know and I'll post the solution.

Kara Jo Kalinowski

Quote from: Falsely on Wed 12/02/2025 04:21:08
Quote from: Kara Jo Kalinowski on Wed 12/02/2025 03:48:43@Falsely

I'm having trouble with a thing which might or might not be relevant, but finding it difficult.

Spoiler
Trying to translate the ancient tablet...these characters are smaller and look different so I'm doing a lot of guessing.

So far I have

_ O D E _ E
B A R E L Y
K _ O C E R E

But several of those I'm not 100% sure on. Also I still don't have translations for G, J, Q, W, X, or Z at all.

I have no idea where to start with the orbs other than the painting upstairs, which seems really obscure hints if that's the case. I know that each orb room has a picture for a label. I got the orb from the candle and the orb from the candy.
[close]


I am so sorry about this one, but it translates to:
Spoiler
GODERE? I BARELY KNOWERE
I, uh, needed to make the tablet look magical.
[close]

There's an in-game way to translate important text (although I'm delighted to see people can solve the extra ones on their own!) Check your inventory. If the game won't auto-translate it for you, it's something silly.

As for the orbs, some clues:
Spoiler
  • Once you've placed all the orbs, click the tablet to check your answers. It won't tell you how many you got right or wrong, but I know some people missed that so I'm leading with that hint first.
  • You're correct that the colours are related to the mural. Have you checked the game manual? There's a coloured picture of it there! ...Or there would be, if someone hadn't photocopied it in black and white. Hmm.
  • Most of the colours are explicitly stated in the manual's journal entry. One is explicitly stated in game.
  • The last player attempted to colour the emblem on the cover page in. If you can't see it on your screen: the heart is yellow, the dove is white, and the cup is green.
  • The last colour can be worked out through process of elimination.
[close]

If you're still stuck after that, let me know and I'll post the solution.

Ah, it's no wonder I couldn't solve it :P As
Spoiler
I didn't have 2 of those letters and the phrase isn't English words.
[close]

I also translated the
Spoiler
title screen and the manual :P I thought that "No Soul Left Behind" might be an important hint, and the other thing was just "Sorry in Advance"
[close]

Kara Jo Kalinowski

Quote from: Falsely on Wed 12/02/2025 04:21:08If you're still stuck after that, let me know and I'll post the solution.

I'm stuck...but I'm not convinced this isn't a bug. As I pmed you, it's telling me that the game doesn't know why I died.

My colors:

Spoiler
cup-green, heart-yellow, bird-white, fire-purple, leftover symbol-red, blood(solid droplet)- blue, water (white droplet)- orange and tree-black. I've also tried swapping blood and water in case I misunderstood.
[close]

Falsely

Quote from: Kara Jo Kalinowski on Wed 12/02/2025 05:36:57I'm stuck...but I'm not convinced this isn't a bug. As I pmed you, it's telling me that the game doesn't know why I died.

My colors:

Spoiler
cup-green, heart-yellow, bird-white, fire-purple, leftover symbol-red, blood(solid droplet)- blue, water (white droplet)- orange and tree-black. I've also tried swapping blood and water in case I misunderstood.
[close]

Gah, that's embarassing. Early drafts of the puzzle were supposed to kill you if you got the colours wrong (as a nod to ye olde copy protection), but I thought I'd taken that out. Thanks for letting me know!

Spoiler
That said, you have mixed up two of the symbols.
Cup - Green
Heart - Yellow
Bird - White
Fire - Purple
Blood - Blue
Tree - Black

The leftover symbol is the creature's helmet, which the manual notes as orange. That leaves the water/damp room podium as red.
[close]
Adding both to the list of things to tighten up...

Kara Jo Kalinowski

#5
(Response to spoiler, not a question.)

Spoiler
Fair enough. I didn't recognize the helmet from the picture, I should have paid more attention. I was associating orange with saltwater.
[close]

Falsely


Kara Jo Kalinowski

#7
(Accidental double post.)

Kara Jo Kalinowski

#8
Okay, so I've met someone and discovered their name. Now what?

Spoiler
I'm at the point where I need to bring Qintus a magical item, or get the door open to bring him an item.
[close]

I've tried:

Spoiler
I read your hint on the main thread, and in that room, it says, "I was going to include a puzzle here, but I forgot." I only see in that room a switch that does nothing, it doesn't unlock the door. Smuggling the items through the slot doesn't work due to a bug. Also, going from the other direction, also seems to require 2 teleports, and another godere tablet which I can't reach. For whatever reason, the door is open now. I don't know what was giving me trouble..
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heltenjon

Please don't post the entire question hidden in spoiler tags. There is no way for others playing the game to know if you are asking the same question they have.

Kara Jo Kalinowski

#10
Quote from: heltenjon on Wed 12/02/2025 21:07:08Please don't post the entire question hidden in spoiler tags. There is no way for others playing the game to know if you are asking the same question they have.

I see your point. I was trying to avoid spoilers, but I suppose I can be vague in my questions and give detils in spoiler tags.

I'm unstuck now...

Falsely

Yeah, sorry about that one. That's a visual glitch not intended to be a puzzle. I'll post the answer here for posterity:

Once the door to the east is unlocked, it won't automatically open. You still have to click it afterwards.

(Though I sure do have an idea for a push/pull door puzzle now.)

Kara Jo Kalinowski

Quote from: Falsely on Wed 12/02/2025 22:29:22Yeah, sorry about that one. That's a visual glitch not intended to be a puzzle. I'll post the answer here for posterity:

Once the door to the east is unlocked, it won't automatically open. You still have to click it afterwards.

(Though I sure do have an idea for a push/pull door puzzle now.)

It was just me that thought I'd tried opening the door before and after and having not done so.

Now I have no idea what to do next, but I'll try at it a bit more before asking for more help...

Falsely

I posted these hints on the discord, but I'll share them here too for anyone else who's mad enough to play this game:

I have a reason to leave the dungeon. How do I do it?
If you haven't tried leaving yet, focus on getting back to the top level of the dungeon and go from there.

Spoiler
You can learn the teleportation spell permanently by bringing the 'Godere' Brick to the skeleton. Alternatively, if it's been at least 30 years you can have a new adventurer cut the vines by the entrance, tie them to the hole to create a rope, and carry the brick up yourself.
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If you fail to escape, a friendly NPC will have some more dialog for you.

Spoiler
Your real objective is to figure out what's cursing player characters to prevent them from leaving. This being in the style of those adventure games, the game won't tell you what cursed you or when.
[close]
Spoiler
You can always test whether you're cursed by attempting to teleport through the front door. If you're cursed, it won't work.

Give teleporting a try after anything that seems suspicious and you can narrow it down fast.
[close]
Spoiler
...You might notice you're cursed the second you walk through the door.
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Spoiler
More specifically, you're cursed before you do even that.
[close]
Spoiler
Is there a way to trick the door into letting someone in, without writing their name?
[close]

This is the final puzzle of the game, so there's not much left to see by skipping the puzzle. But if you're truly stuck, the solution is here:

Spoiler
Have a new adventurer write their name on the wall, then turn around and leave. The door should remain open for your next adventurer. Have them walk through without writing their name.

The door will still close behind them, but they won't be cursed. Visit Qintus, then teleport out the way you came.
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sthomannch

#14
I finally finished the game (died a few times), no more questions. So I update my post.

I lost some time trying to
Spoiler
wake the skeleton with magic words (Ne.. Na.. etc.), should have taken the text from the book more literally.
[close]

The last riddle was also a bit difficult
Spoiler
The explanation of the skeleton were not straight-forward. Lost a few lives here
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All in all, a very good game !! For a MAGS contribution really large. Graphics, story, riddles all very good and entertaining!

Falsely

#15
Sorry I didn't see this until now, but thank you for the kind words! I'm hoping to polish it up and release it properly, when time permits. ...Probably with a less evil final puzzle. (laugh)

Glad you found the solutions, but I'll write some hints here for the next person just in case.

I've assembled and dressed a skeleton. Now what?
Spoiler
  • Quoris is known for its necromancy. This is your chance to learn how to talk to the dead.
  • You could try blindly chanting spells until you get it right, but with ~81 possible combinations that could take a while.
  • If you're never going to give that up, I suggest writing a list of all the syllables first. Possibly in grid formation.
  • If you don't want to do that - check the library on the top floor. There's a book on this subject.
[close]

Solution:
Spoiler
Your character doesn't know any magic. The incantations are a red herring. A very specific type of red herring.

Keep clicking "talk to it" until the skeleton talks back. The game will try to fake you out by repeating dialog - just keep clicking.
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(The last riddle is covered under "I have a reason to leave the dungeon. Now what?" above.)

sthomannch

I would not polish too much, the game play is excellent and captures the spirit of these old-school adventures very well. For the last puzzle, a bit more help with a few more dialog options (to not give away too much) would be fine. Scratching the head is part of that kind of adventures  :smiley:

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