In this retro-styled game, you were flying your small airplane over the south Atlantic Ocean when a freak storm forced you to parachute down to this small island. Explore. Survive. Find an abandoned village and research facility. Call for help and escape!
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 5 of the game.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of an interactive fiction game. Please make an honest effort to play the game before reading this walkthrough.
After you've slept, you can use the rope-and-pulley system to ascend to the village: ENTER PLATFORM then PULL ROPE. To descend: ENTER PLATFORM then UNTIE ROPE. But just use the stairs instead.
Map 2: The village
Map 3: The white house
To enter the white house, you must TYPE 5218 on the keypad every time instead of using a simple IN.
You can never enter the officers room, the guard room, or the cafeteria's kitchen.
Once you enter the antechamber, you're unwilling to turn back.
Map 4: Underground area
Walkthrough
Act 1: Marooned!
Immaculate beach
CAUTION: There is no UNDO in this game!
> x me. i. x matchbook. count matches.(half dozen)
> x hill. x ocean.
> ne —or— x boulder.
End of the beach
> x boulder. climb it.(no: too smooth)
> n.
Cove
> e —or— swim.
Waist-deep in the ocean
This is one of two places that is good for fishing.
> w. nw. w.
Northern cliffs
> x rope. pull rope.
> x boat. look under it.
> x seaweed. take it.(+1; You dry and eat it.)
> open compartment.
> x rod. x net. x knife.
Not counting the matches, you can only carry two items. Leave the rod here for now.
> take knife and net.
> sw.
Northwestern cliffs
> s —or— x strait.
Narrow strait
> x pool.
> w —or— swim.
Waist-deep in the ocean
This is the second place you can catch a fish.
> e. se.
Southwestern cliffs
> x cliffs.
> sw —or— swim.
Knee-deep in the ocean
> x cliffs. x trees. x mast.
> x sandbar.
You can go further southwest for a better view of what's up there.
> sw. x mast.(+1)
> ne. ne. e.
Sandy beach by the forest
> n.
Edge of the woods
> x mossy rock. x critters.(worms)
> x trees. x flowers.
> tie net to trees.(It's now a hammock.)
> n.
Deep in the woods
> x white stones.(+1; they're stairs)
> clean steps.(no: too tired and hungry)
> s.
Edge of the woods
You need to catch and cook a fish. Save yourself a bit of walking by getting the firewood now.
> cut tree.(+5. You have the wood and auto-drop the knife.)
> x wood.
To dry the wood, you must take it to the north side of the island where there's more sun.
> s. w. nw. n. ne.
Northern cliffs
> dry wood.(You lay the wood out.)
The wood will be long dry by the time you return with a fish. Take the rod and head back to the edge of the woods.
> take rod.
> sw. s. se. e. n.
Edge of the woods
Use the worm for bait and a flower for a lure. Leave the knife here; you need a free hand for the fish you'll catch.
> take worm. put worm on rod.(+1)
> take flower. put flower on rod.(+1)
> s. w. nw. w.
Waist-deep in the ocean (west of strait)
> fish.(+5; you have a fish)
> x fish.
> e.
Narrow strait
An albatross wants your fish.
> x bird. give fish to bird.
It takes the fish away, but soon returns with a stick which it drops in your hand before leaving again.
> x stick.(It's a flute.)
If you play the flute outdoors, it summons the albatross to help you solve one (and only one) puzzle, if it can. But if you want full points, avoid using the flute.
> se. e. n.
Edge of the woods
> drop flute.
> take worm. put worm on rod.
> take flower. put flower on rod.
> s. w. nw. w.
Waist-deep in the ocean (west of strait)
> fish.(You get another fish.)
> e. se. e. n.
Edge of the woods
> drop rod. take knife.
> s. w. nw. n. ne.
Northern cliffs
> x wood.(It's dry.)
> drop knife. make campfire.
> take knife. cook fish.(+5)
Unfortunately, you used all your matches. Fish and campfire are gone as well. Return to your hammock.
> sw. s. se. e. n.
Edge of the woods
> enter hammock.(+5; you sleep and wake refreshed)
You should now have 25 points.
> take flute.
> n.
Act 2: An abandoned village
Deep in the woods
> clean steps.(+5; using the knife)
You climb up to...
Top of the stairs
> n.
Houses by the town centre
> x door —or— x hinges.
> n.
Centre of the village
Coins don't count towards your carrying capacity.
> x fountain. take coin. x it.
> drink water —or— pump pump.(+1)
> n.
Small shop
Note that this shop has a window.
> w.
House by the cliff
The door here is unlocked but you'll be back here very soon.
> w.
Outside the storehouse
> x pulley.
> w —or— x shelves.
Storehouse - Front
> x shelves.(+5. You take a torch.)
> turn on torch.(It works!)
> w.
Storehouse - Back
> x backpack. take it.(+5. You wear it.)
Now that you have a backpack, you can pick up all sorts of stuff.
> w.
Canning workbench
> x workbench. x bowl. take it. x jars.
> e. e. e.
Outside the storehouse
> turn off torch. e. in.
Small house by the northern cliffs
Remember that there are lights in here.
> x sink. x pantry. x lights. x chairs.
> out. e. n.
Scenic view
> x ocean. x fire. x can.
> take rock. x rock.
> s.
Small shop
> open door.(locked)
> smash window with rock.(+2)
> enter window.
Inside Harry's shop
> take rock. take all from counter.
> x binoculars. x gum. chew gum.
> x lighter. x cigarettes. x comic. x rusty.
> unlock door. open door.
> out. e.
Woodshop
> open door.(locked)
> smash window with rock.(+2)
> enter window.
Inside the woodshop
With both windows smashed, you no longer need the rock.
> take shiny. x it.
> x table. x pieces. take pieces.
> x saw. take saw.
> unlock door. open door.
> out. s.
Power generators of the island
"12 hp" means "12 horsepower".
> x machines. x tank.
> x shrubs. search shrubs.
> x hole. enter hole.(+5)
Field
> x shack. enter it.(nothing)
> search grass.(+5; got coin and guard key)
> e.
Front door of the white house
> x door. x keypad.(deal with this later)
> w.
Field
> x gate. unlock gate with guard key.
> open gate.
> w. se.
Around the fence
Climbing the tree is a one-way alternate way into the field, but since you found the hole in the gate and unlocked the gate, you won't be willing to climb this tree now.
> x mansion. x tree.
> w. w.
Small house behind the pub
> x house. x door. open it.(You go in.)
Inside the house / Inside the pub landlord's house
> turn on torch.
> x posters. x aprons. wear apron.
> x safe. open it.(unlocked!)
> look in safe. take pub key.(+5)
> turn off torch. out. sw.
Base of tower
> take coin. x it.
> x tower. x pieces.(They're rungs!)
> put rungs in ladder.(+5)
> u.
Top of the tower
> take screwdriver. x it.
> look through binoculars.(+5. The island to the southwest looks charred.)
If you unscrew the keypad with the screwdriver and study the wiring, you learn that the digits 1, 2, 5, and 8 are used in the combo, but you still have to screw the keypad back into place and use it to unlock the door.
Fortunately, you know the combo from the science-fiction book and you don't need to guess.
> type 5218 on keypad.(+5. You enter.)
Lobby of the white house
> x notices.(+1; the mechanism opens the lab door)
> g. g. g. g.
> x statue.(of boy, looking at north door)
> turn statue.(+2. It now faces the entrance.)
> x buckets. look in buckets.
> take rat.(The buckets stablilize.)
> x weight. x hole. x lever.
> open door.(no: blocked on other side)
> s.
Library
> x shelf. g. g. g. put book on shelf.
> n. e.
Cafeteria
Nothing useful here, and you can never open the kitchen door.
> w. u.
Lobby of the white house (on the mezzanine)
> x pipe.(can reach it by climbing the railing)
> climb railing.(You do that, then get back down.)
> e.
Quarters
You can never open the officers door or the guard door.
> x officers.(locked)
> x guard door.(locked)
> x yellow. unlock yellow with screwdriver.(+5)
> open yellow. n.
Yellow room
> x chest. open it. x ball. take it.
> s.
Quarters
> x white door. unlock white with screwdriver.
> open white. s.
White room
> open chest. get pump.
> n. w. d.
Lobby of the white house
> put ball in tube.
> put pump on nozzle.(+2)
> pump pump. pull lever.
The ball enters the funnel but falls out of the pipe halfway; a screw must be loose.
NOTE: If the statue isn't turned, the ball hits the statue instead.
> u.
Lobby of the white house (on the mezzanine
> x screw. take it.
> screw screw.(using the screwdriver)
> take ball. d.
Lobby of the white house
> put ball in tube.
> pump pump. pull lever.(+5)
The ball enters the funnel, then pipe, then right bucket. Right bucket goes down. Left bucket goes up and hits the weight. The weight falls, but stops before hitting the floor.
You should have 110 points total now.
> open door.(and you enter...)
Act 4: The secret of Tristam Island
Antechamber
> push button.(elevator opens)
> in.
Inside the elevator
> push button.(+5; elevator descends)
> out.
Lobby
> x poster.(+5)
> x desk. x box. search box.(random serviceman)
> open door.(locked)
> s. s.
Lab (west end)
> x workbench. x beakers.
> x device. take it.(Geiger counter)
> listen to it. read it.
> e.
Lab (east end)
> x sofa.(false ceiling mentioned)
> x blackboard. x cabinet.
> x massive book. x thick book.
Both books are real ones, by the way.
> take massive.
> n. n.
Meeting room
> x papers. search papers.
You find a letter warning about explosion-size risk.
You deduce this island was abandoned in February 1962.
> s. e.
Storage lockers
> x lockers.(One is locked with an unreadable combo lock)
> touch lock —or— listen to lock.(+5)
> open locker. take cable.
> n.
Hallway by a window
> x lamp.(false ceiling mentioned again)
> x window.(see loading dock and crate at grotto)
> read counter.(The reading is much higher here.)
> n.
By the Major's office
> open door. x tile.
Get a chair from the meeting room.
> s. w.
Meeting room
> take chair. e. n.
By the Major's office
> drop chair. put massive book on chair.
> stand on chair. move tile.
> enter tile.(+5)
Office of Major Westwood
> x desk. open drawer. x keyring. take it.
> x bin. search it.(Same warning letter.)
> unlock door with keyring. open door.
> s. s. s.
Storage lockers
> unlock door with keyring.(fail)
> w. w. n.
Lobby
> unlock door with keyring.
> open door. w.
Comms room
> x note.("Coast Guards: 12.4035 Mc")
> x transmitter.("12.4020 Mc")
The knob is rusty and imprecise. To solve this, keep turning the knob left when the setting is too high and right when the setting is too low until you land on the correct frequency.
It's not randomized, by the way. Turning the knob right adds .0020 to the frequency; turning the knob left subtracts .0013 from the frequency.
Also, if you hate the fiddliness of this puzzle, you can instead just turn the knob right repeatedly until it gets stuck at the far end at 12.4126, then turn the knob left repeatedly until it lands on 12.4035 that way.
> turn knob right.("12.4040")
> turn knob left.("12.4027")
> turn knob right.("12.4047")
> turn knob left.("12.4034")
> turn knob right.("12.4054")
> turn knob left.("12.4041")
> turn knob left.("12.4028")
> turn knob right.("12.4048")
> turn knob left.("12.4035")(+5)
> wear headphones.
> open panel.
> put cable in radio.(+5; replacing the melted cable)
> listen.(There's static now.)
> push button.(+5)
A few days later, Colonel Bradley arrives in a helicopter to take you home. The albatross squawks a goodbye.
*** You have won ***
Extras
Albatross favors
When you summon the albatross by playing its flute, it may perform one (but only one) of the following favors for you:
At the base of the tower, it may bring you a stick which you automatically use to fix the ladder with.
Outside the small shop, it may smash the shop's window.
Outside the workshop, it may smash the workshop's window.
Outside the crude door, it may pull out the hinge pins with its beak!
The albatross's aid is always helpful, but if you're trying to get full points, you should avoid using the flute entirely.
Characters
Worms are crawling underneath the mossy rock at the edge of the woods.
Fish are swimming in the ocean. You can see them west of the strait and east of the cove.
An albatross demands a fish from you after you catch one.
A member of the Namibian Coast Guards answers your radio call.
Colonel Bradley, a British officer, arrives by helicopter to take you home.
Found dead:
A dead rat is in the left bucket in the white house's lobby.
Mentioned:
The pub landlord had a house near the pub. We know almost nothing about the other villagers.
Jukebox artists: Linda Scott, Eddie Cochran, Johnny Tillotson, The Marcels, Fats Domino, Del Shannon, Rosie and the Originals, John Leyton, The Tornados, B. Bumble & The Stingers, The Shadows, Lonnie Donegan, Anthony Newley, Frank Ifield, Elvis Presley, Helen Shapiro, and Cliff Richard and The Shadows.
Book authors: Brian Moriarty, Murray Leinster, Alfred Bester, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Judith Merrill, Olaf Stapledon, and Brian Aldiss.
Named personnel: Major Westwood, Doctor Alexander Grant (nuclear physics expert), Doctor Jerome Thorpe (nuclear chemistry specialist), Walt Horvak (medical doctor), Mick Antrim (nuclear engineer), Marv Siegel (sensor tech specialist), Douglas Williamson (sapper), Private Tom Jolley, Private John Atkinson, Corporal Steven Saunders, Private Tim Gorecki, and Corporal Peter Dahl.
Credits
This is the response to CREDITS:
[The author would like to thank:
Infocom, creators of the Z-Machine and of so many awesome adventure games that we're still using their tools 40 years after;
Graham Nelson, creator of Inform 6;
Andrew Plotkin, for his hard work and dedication to fixing the Inform 6 compiler's bugs that had prevented z3 releases for years;
Fredrik Ramsberg and Johan Berntsson, for the amazing PunyInform library, and many optimizations and bugfixes;
My testers: Manon Burz-Labrande, CrocMiam, Steve Flintham, Grimmnebulin, Brennen Kinch, Juhana Leinonen, Samuel Verschelde, Mark Walker, Jack Welch;
The players who reported bugs in the initial release: Davide Bucci, Chris Carter, Wade Clarke, Denk, Richard Hawkins, Christopher Merrimer, Brian Rushton, Tiffany Zhao;
All the programmers and maintainers of interpreters, which keep the Z-Machine alive on so many platforms;
Stefan Vogt, for his help setting up ports of this game, and his detailed answers to my technical questions;
And last but not least, my wife and my kids, for their love, support, and patience.]
Inventory
Your normal carrying capacity is only two items. The matchbook and coins are exempt from capacity restrictions. After you acquire the backpack, excess items automatically go into it, within reason.
Act 1 items
a matchbook, containing a few matches. It's in your pocket.
They are damp, but don't worry about drying them or getting them any wetter.
First, make a campfire from the firewood, that is, assemble it. Now, while holding the fish and knife, cook the fish. You use up all your matches in the process.
a fishing rod. It's inside the boat's compartment at the northern cliffs.
Put a worm on the rod (as bait) and a flower on the rod (as a lure), then go to one of the two good fishing spots (west of the strait or each of the cove) and fish to catch a fish.
After giving your first fish to the albatross, go through the whole process again to get a fish for yourself. You won't need the fishing rod afterwards.
a fishing net. It's inside the boat's compartment at the northern cliffs.
At the edge of the woods, tie the net to the trees to make a hammock.
After you've eaten a fish, enter the hammock and sleep.
a fishing knife. It's inside the boat's compartment at the northern cliffs.
At the edge of the woods, cut a tree with the knife to acquire some firewood.
After assembling the dried firewood into a campfire, you need to be holding the knife, fish, and matches to cook the fish; the knife is needed to gut the fish during the process.
In the pub's kitchen, cut the solidified oil with the knife to obtain a block of it.
Note that the knife is never a substitute for a screwdriver.
a worm. A supply of worms are under the mossy rock at the edge of the woods.
a fish. Fish at a fishing spot with your rod (with worm and flower on it) to catch a fish.
The fishing spots are west of the strait and east of the cove.
When you return to land with your first fish, an albatross arrives. Give the fish to it; it gives you a flute in exchange.
a small stick. An albatross gives this flute to you when you give it a fish. (The albatross appears when you return to land with your first fish.)
Playing the flute anywhere outdoors summons the albatross to your location. It assesses your current situation, and if it can help you (see Albatross favors for details), it does so. This is the albatross paying its debt for the fish; you cannot summon the albatross again if it has previously helped you.
If there's nothing for the albatross to do, it squawks angrily at you for wasting its time.
some sticks of firewood. Acquire it by cutting a tree (with the knife) at the edge of the woods.
Take the firewood to the northern cliffs and dry the wood there where there's more sun. Drying takes about five turns.
When the wood is dry, MAKE A CAMPFIRE.
When you have the fish, knife, and matches at the campfire's location, you can COOK THE FISH.
Honorable mention: some seaweed. Find it at the northern cliffs by looking under the boat.
When you take it, you automatically dry it and eat it.
Act 2 items
a torch. Acquire it by examining the shelves in the storehouse's front room.
Turn it on to see in dark locations, or better in dimly-lit locations.
You should turn the torch off when outside, but you don't need to worry about the batteries running out of power in this game.
a backpack. It's in the storehouse's back room.
Take it; you automatically wear it. This item, in effect, removes your carrying capacity restrictions. The game automatically puts excess items into the backpack for you.
a metal bowl. It's on the canning workbench.
This item can used as the pot can, for holding and melting the oil in. If you have the pot, you don't need this bowl.
the spare key for the pub. It's inside the unlocked safe in the pub landlord's house.
At the scenic view, after lighting the logs with the lighter, put the pot on the fire to melt the oil.
Alternatively, you can use the metal bowl instead of the pot.
a large rock. A supply of rocks are in the circle at the scenic view.
Smash the windows of the small shop and workshop with the rock. Now you can enter those windows.
some binoculars. They're on the counter inside Harry's shop.
At the top of the tower, look through the binoculars to see Tristam Island.
a pack of gum. It's on the counter inside Harry's shop.
Chew it, if you want to. The gum is unimportant.
a lighter. It's on the counter inside Harry's shop.
At the scenic view, light the logs with the lighter.
a block of solidified oil. Acquire it in the pub's kitchen by cutting the oil with the knife.
Put the oil into either the bowl or pot. You won't put that mess into your backpack!
At the scenic view, after lighting the logs with the lighter, put the bowl or pot on the fire to melt the oil; it is now liquid cooking oil.
At the power generators, open the tank, put the liquid oil into the tank, then start the generators.
some ladder rungs. They're the wood pieces inside the woodshop.
At the base of the tower, put the rungs into the ladder to fix it.
a hand wood saw. It's inside the woodshop.
This saw is actually useless to you. Ignore it.
a flathead screwdriver. It's at the top of the tower.
Outside the crude door, pry the hinges with the screwdriver to remove the door.
At the front door of the white house, you have the option of unscrewing the keypad with the screwdriver and examining the exposed wiring to learn which digits are in the passcode, but you need to screw the keypad back in place before you can type a number on it.
In Quarters, unlock both the yellow door and the white door with the screwdriver.
On the mezzanine, while holding the big screw, screw the screw with the screwdriver.
a science-fiction book. It's on the nightstand in the house with the crude door.
Open the book (instead of reading it) to learn the combo for the white house's front door's keypad. The combo is always 5218.
In the library, feel free to put this book back on the shelf where it belongs. You won't get any points for this kind action except in our hearts.
a guard key. Acquire it by searching the grass in the field.
This key unlocks the door between the fenced area and the field. It does not unlock the guard room that's inside the white house.
After you're restored the island's power (see oil), go to the pub and insert all your coins into the jukebox for some optional points.
a dirty sixpence. It's at the base of the tower.
a damaged sixpence. It's in the fountain at the centre of the village.
a shiny sixpence. Acquire it by digging the trenches in the overgrown garden.
a rusty sixpence. It's on the counter inside Harry's shop.
a shiny shilling. It's inside the woodshop.
a rusty shilling. It's inside the house that had the crude door.
a dirty shilling. Acquire it by searching the grass in the field.
Act 3 items
a cricket ball. It's in the yellow room's chest.
In the lobby, put the ball into the tube. Assuming the bike pump is connected to the tube's nozzle, pump the pump then pull the lever. The ball is ejected towards the funnel. The ball will end up either in the lobby (if the statue wasn't turned), in the mezzanine (if there's a screw loose), or in the right bucket.
a bike pump. It's in the white room's chest.
In the lobby, attach the pump to the tube's nozzle. Pump the pump to increase the air pressure in the tube; pulling the lever releases that pressure. If the cricket ball is in the tube, the tube acts as an air cannon, launching the ball towards the funnel.
a big screw. It falls onto the lobby's mezzanine after the first time the cricket ball enters the funnel.
When on the mezzanine, while holding the screw and screwdriver, screw the screw to put it back where it belongs.
Dishonorable mention: a dead rat. It's in the lobby's left bucket.
Take it; you immediately drop it. If both buckets are now empty, they readjust so they're both level with each other.
Act 4 items
a filing box. It's on the desk in the underground lobby.
You don't need it, it's very heavy, but feel free to search it repeatedly or stand on it.
a Geiger counter. It's the device with a dial in the lab's west side.
You don't need it, but if you turn it on and listen to it in the easternmost rooms underground, the radiation is noticeably higher there, implying that whatever is in the grotto is dangerously radioactive.
a organic chemisty textbook. It's the massive book in the lab's east side.
After putting a chair in front of the Major's office door, put the massive book on the chair to increase its height. Now stand on the chair, move one of the false ceiling tiles, and go up to get into the office.
a nuclear physics textbook. It's the thick book in the lab's east side.
You don't need this book.
a cable. There's a mess of cables in the comm guy's locker; take one. To unlock the locker, touch the lock or listen to the lock.
In the comms room, open the transmitter's access panel to reveal a melted cable. Put your cable into the transmitter to replace the melted cable.
a sturdy chair. Take one from the meeting room.
Drop this chair in front of the Major's office door. See chemisty textbook on what to do next.
a master keyring. It's inside the desk drawer in Major Westwood's office.
Unlock both the office door and the comms room door with the keyring.
Surprisingly, you cannot open the door by the storage lockers. It seems that key was removed from the keyring.
Also, you are unwilling to go back up the elevator, so you cannot try to unlock any of the remaining locked doors in the white house.
some headphones. They're on the desk in the comms room.
Wear them when trying to use the transmitter to call for help.
Score
This is the response to SCORE:
You have so far scored X out of a possible 150, in Y turns, thus giving you the rank of: your-rank.
Points are awarded in Act 1 as follows (25 total):
1 point for eating some seaweed.
1 point for examining the mast from far out on the sandbank.
1 point for discovering stairs deep in the woods.
1 point for baiting your rod with a worm.
1 point for putting a flower on your rod as a lure.
5 points for catching a fish.
5 points for acquiring firewood.
5 points for eating a cooked fish.
5 points for sleeping in a hammock.
Points are awarded in Act 2 as follows (65 total):
5 points for arriving in the village (either by cleaning the stairs or hoisting yourself up using the rope-and-pulley platform).
5 points for obtaining a torch.
5 points for obtaining a backpack.
5 points for obtaining the spare key for the pub.
1 point for drinking water from the village fountain.
2 points for learning you're on Kingsley Island.
2 points for smashing the small shop's window.
2 points for smashing the woodshop's window.
5 points for repairing the tower's ladder.
5 points for looking through the binoculars from the top of the tower.
2 points for prying a crude door's hinges with the screwdriver.
5 points for getting past the white house's fence (either by climbing the tree or entering the hole in the fence).
5 points for finding the guard key.
5 points for starting the generators.
1 point for turning off the light in the small house by the northern cliffs.
1 point for unplugging the pub's fridge.
7 points for playing songs on the jukebox, one point per coin.
1 point for unplugging the jukebox.
1 point for turning off the light in the pub landlord's house.
Points are awarded in Act 3 as follows (20 total):
5 points for entering the white house.
1 point for reading the notes in the lobby.
2 points for turning the statue toward the entrance.
5 points for unlocking either the yellow door or white door in the Quarters.
2 points for attaching the bike bump to the slanted tube's nozzle.
5 points for solving the bucket mechanism puzzle.
Points are awarded in Act 4 as follows (40 total):
5 points for pushing the button inside the elevator.
5 points for examining the poster in the underground lobby.
5 points for unlocking the comms guy's locker.
5 points for getting inside Major Westwood's office.
5 points for obtaining the master keyring.
5 points for setting the radio frequency.
5 points for replacing the radio's melted wire.
5 points for contacting the Coast Guards on the radio.
