A Train to Piccadilly is a Z-machine interactive fiction game written with Inform 6 (with PunyInform) and is © 2024 by Marco Innocenti. TODO
TODO
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the game. This is the free PunyComp version. There is an upgraded version for sale that I have not played; this walkthrough might not work for the upgraded version.
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.
The game begin with a content warning regarding its political and war-related content.
[DE] ALLEY
> credits. x me. i. x curtains.
> x door. pull boards.
> open door. (can't)
> knock.
The door opens, but a drone also heard you. The door closes and you duck behind some machinery while the drone searches for you.
Your knocking was a trigger event. You have a limited number of turns before the drone finds you and kills you.
> x machinery. take sheet. x it.
> x drone.
> throw disc at curtains.
The collected rainwater agitates the drone. You race through the door before the drone recovers.
[DE] STAIRCASE
> d.
[HUB] EIN ALTES WOHNZIMMER
> x wallpaper. x furniture.
> x gramophone. x carpet.
> x man. talk to man. g. (repeat)
Lev Nemov tells you that this is a liminal place, outside of normal space and time. The three objects on a nearby table were stolen by other Gromovs and have never been part of this reality. Your job is to use the objects to find the Parni s Vostoka, aka The Boys from the East, and restore the world to one without war and suppression. Nemov leaves you.
> x table. x watch. x disc. x boxed something.
> take watch.
An orange glow and strange music transport you to Bienne, Switzerland.
[CH] LAKEVIEW
> x sign. x mountains. x lake.
> x valley. x statues.
> e.
[CH] RIVER
> x river. x hedge. x bridge. x buildings.
> i. x watch. ("12 o'clock")
> wear watch. (no)
> n.
[CH] STATION
> x track. x panel. x poster.
> take poster. (timetable found; poster lost)
> x timetable.
08:43 MUNICH 17:18 TURIN 08:57 NEUCHATEL 17:33 MUNICH 09:21 BERN 17:49 NEUCHATEL 09:35 ZURICH 18:02 BERN 09:43 BASEL 18:18 TURIN 09:57 PARIS 18:33 PARIS 10:21 MUNICH 18:49 BASEL 10:35 NEUCHATEL 19:02 MUNICH 10:43 BERN 19:18 NEUCHATEL 10:57 ZURICH 19:33 MILAN
> s. ne.
[CH] UHRENMUSEUM
> x scenes.
> x Reformation. (note: basilisk of Basel, eagle of Neuchatel)
> x Eighty. (note: serpent of Milan)
> x Revolution. (note: bull of Turin)
> x Conflict. (note: lion of Monaco, Coq Gaulois of Paris)
> x Clash. (note: beast of Zurich)
> x small.
"Coq" means "rooster", by the way.
> x machine. ("9:33", pocket of figurines, two recesses)
> x pocket. (lion, rooster, eagle, basilisk, bear, beast, bull, raptor, snake, donkey, griffon, and giraffe)
Note that no matter how long you're here, the machine's time doesn't change.
> n.
[CH] SPIELAUTOMAT
> x pipes. x stand.
> x mechanism. (a rotating cage aka a tourbillon"0
> x bay. x star slot. x thinner slot.
> open dome. (not by hand)
> s. sw. w. ne.
[CH] RING
> x fountain. x coin. take coin. (You almost fell in.)
> x church. (note: bear of Bern)
> x hat. x clock. ("16:25", dial seems detached)
> x building. (Waldleuten Guildhouse)
> e.
[CH] CHURCH
> x windows. x tower. x tubes. x holes.
> x device. ("16:25", can set the clock time)
> w. ne.
[CH] ZUNFTHAUS
> x beams. x chairs. x tables. x books.
> x history book. (note: October '43 and October '57 circled)
A framed portrait falls into your hand.
> x portrait. (The guard puts it on a table.)
> x art. x culture.
> x guard. x armband. x rifle.
> talk to guard. (no)
Use no wasted movements in these next steps to get rid of the guard:
> take portrait. sw.
[CH] RING
The guard follows you.
> put portrait in fountain. (The guard falls in.)
> push guard. (He plummets down the drain.)
> ne. u.
[CH] Banquet Hall
> x table. x window. (something stuck in gap)
> d. sw. sw. e. ne.
[CH] UHRENMUSEUM
At this point, make the following chain of correspondences:
> put bear in left.
> put beast in right.
> x machine. ("20:10")
Go set the church's clock to that.
> sw. w. ne. e.
[CH] CHURCH
When setting the clock time, don't include the colon!! So very very unfair!
> set dial to 2010. (gong and shattering glass heard)
> w. ne. u.
[CH] BANQUET HALL
The window is now broken, and a knob is among the wood.
> take knob. x it.
> d. sw. sw. e. ne. n.
[CH] SPIELUTOMAT
> put knob in star slot.
> put coin in thin slot. (The dome opens.)
> x bay. (for watch; "Parni byli zdes")
> take mechanism. (can't)
> put watch in bay. (You grab the tourbillon before returning to the Hub.)
[HUB] EIN ALTES WOHNZIMMER
> take vinyl. (You're transported to...)
[UK] TURRET
> x sign. d.
[UK] WEEPING STONES
> x column. x steps. (From 1 to 9, bottom to top)
> d.
[UK] DINING HALL
> x table. x puzzle. (needs viola, organ, and lyre)
> x armor. x horns. x stain.
> x fireplace. x mound. take poker.
> push mound with poker. (You now have the pin.)
> x poker. x pin.
> x panels. put pin in hole.
> push pin. (need a tool)
> hit pin with poker. (passage east opens)
Sorry, but let's not go east right away.
> w.
[UK] GRAND LIVING
> x sofa. take white. x it. (flag)
> x sideboard. x embroidery. take it.
Note that the first letter of every line of the song is a musical note.
> x window. x door. x left. x right.
> e. s.
[UK] ENTRANCE HALL
> x hinges. x fresco. ("E-F-G/A-B-C-D-E-F" from bottom to top)
> push F. (no; this is just a fresco)
> s.
[UK] HUMBLE GREENERY
> x cat. pet it. x trees. x grass.
> x fountain. x fish. x lyre. x woman.
> sw.
[UK] LIMIT OF HEAVENS
> x man. talk to man. (He's you, missing an arm.)
> g. g. g. g. (He runs, dropping something.)
> look. take sword. x it. take apple.
> x ruins. x trees.
> ne.
[UK] HUMBLE GREENERY
> put apple on right hand. (The cat gets a fish and leaves.)
> sw.
[UK] LIMIT OF HEAVENS
> take apple. ne. se.
[UK] CLOSED WOODS
This is why you needed to feed the cat. If the cat's here, the squirrel climbs up out of reach.
> x squirrel. give apple to squirrel. (He drops something.)
> look. take tile. x it.
> x leaves. search leaves. x trees. x branch.
> nw. sw.
[UK] LIMITE OF HEAVENS
Yes, get a third apple.
> take apple.
> ne. n. n. w.
[UK] GRAND LIVING
> put flag in left.
> put sword in right. (The door opens.)
> nw.
[UK] SINGING TOWER
> x device. x chant. x button.
> x slot. take paper. (not while device is on)
> x cables.
> push button. (only works for a moment)
> put apple on button.
> take paper. x card. take apple.
> se. e. e.
[UK] BLOOD CHAMBER
> x seat. x cables. x blood.
> take diary. x it.
> x organ. put card in organ.
> take piece. x it. (organ tile)
> w. u.
[UK] WEEPING STONES
Match up the notes on the fresco with the nine steps here, with E as step 1 at the bottom, to high F as step 9 at the top. Stepping on a specific step plays its note. Now play the eight notes indicated by the first letters of each line on the embroidery; the hyphens in front of the second line indicate that E is a high E.
After stepping on eight steps, the stairway resets an the game tells you about the SEQ command. It's okay to use that command before you've been taught it:
> seq 18642361
A niche in the column opens.
> look in niche. take viola. x it.
> d.
[UK] DINING HALL
> put lyre in jigsaw.
> put organ in jigsaw.
> put viola in jigsaw.
The puzzle is replaces by a square shallow housing.
> x housing. put vinyl in it.
You acquire a music box just before returning to the Hub.
[HUB] EIN ALTES WOHNZIMMER
> i. x carillon. play it.
> take box.
[US] CATCHALL
> x door. x stuff.
> search stuff. take broom. x it.
> ne.
[US] CATWALK (southern)
> x counter. x door. x tanks. x walkway.
> ne. n.
[US] CATWALK (eastern)
> x button. (lightning bolt and wave symbols)
> x tanks. (electrifed water north; empty south)
> push button.
> x tanks. (empty north; electrifed water south)
On the catwalks, whenever you push a button marked with a lightning symbol, all the tanks that aren't electrified become electrified, and all the tanks that were electrified become unelectrified.
Likewise, pushing a wave button fills all the empty tanks with water and empties all the full tanks.
> n.
[US] TANK (northeastern)
> x panel.
> turn on switch. (can't: no power)
> nw.
[US] CATWALK (northern)
> x door. x lamp. x button. (wave)
> x tanks. (empty southeast; water southwest)
> push button.
> x tanks. (water southeast; empty southwest)
> sw. s.
[US] CATWALK (western)
> x tanks. x panel. x card.
> x button. (lightning)
> push panel with broom. (It glides, hits the southeastward edge, then sinks.)
The card did not sink with the panel; the card is now on the southern catwalk. Go get it.
> n. ne. push button.
> se. s. push button. s. sw.
[US] CATWALK (southern)
> take card.
Return to the northern catwalk:
> ne. n. push button. n. nw.
[US] CATWALK (northern)
> put card in slot. (fail: no power)
> push button. sw. s.
[US] CATWALK (western)
> push button.
> x tanks. (both tanks are now electrified, but only the one to the south has water)
Believe it or not, you can walk through an empty electrified tank. Assume your footwear is providing adequate insulation.
> n. ne. push button. se.
[US] TANK (northeastern)
This tank is electrified, so this switch now has power.
> turn on switch. nw.
[US] CATWALK (northern)
The cage lamp is green; that's a good sign.
> put card in slot. (The door slides away, taking the card with it.)
> n. (The door closes behind you.)
[US] ADVANCED LABS
> x counter. x hatch.
> w.
[US] LOCKER ROOMS
> x lockers. x engravings.
> x tall. x suit. x message. x hole.
> take suit. take tape.
> put tape on suit. x hole.
> x short. open it. look in short. (empty)
> take binder. read it.
>> SPACE
>> Y
>> Y
>> Y
>> Y
> open lockers.
> open lockers with poker. (snrk)
> e. n.
[US] CONTROL
This is obviously a computer.
> x typewriter. x writings. ("HOME" prompt)
One of the binder's entries said "Alexandria checks him every time he leaves his house and, it is said, without her, ON THE CONTRARY, one does not enter his house at all." This is your clue that the password is "Alexandria", but backwards.
> type xyzzy (heh. no)
> type alexandria (warmer!)
> type airdnaxela (correct!)
The screen now shows a strange list of command options.
> type dor. (no: tunnel flooded)
> type dir. ("PUMP ENABLED")
> type dir. ("VACUUM ENABLED")
> type vnt. (tunnel vaccuumed, removing water and air)
> type dor. (no: tunnel without air)
> type dir. ("PUMP ENABLED")
> type vnt. (tunnel pumped, adding air)
> type dor. (hatch opened)
Mentioned:
This is the response to CREDITS:
This game is yet another competitive frustration of Marco Innocenti, who for PunyComp24 decided to ignore almost every limit requested by the organizers and mix the cards even with regards to the imposed theme. Instead of a short game, that could be judged in an hour, the author has created a long and complicated puzzle fest, with some story attached. I apologize now to all those who will hate it, while I am already sending wedding promises to those who, at least a little, will appreciate it.
The game is dedicated to Sandro Carlotti, the childhood friend that I haven't seen for years, with whom I wrote the first text adventures between 1983 and 1987. Sooner or later, I swear, one of those will be playable again on Commodore 64.
HUGE thanks go to my uber-patient testers, namely: Adam Biltcliffe, Lance Cirone, Piergiorgio d'Errico, Max Fog, Javier Garza, Marius Mueller, AM Ruf, Sean (anodyne_one) and Stefan Vogt. Particularly abundant thanks to Fredrik Ramsberg for the many (public and secret) coding advices and for promising he won't ever again eat kebab pizza. More or less.
Check more games by the author at andromedalegacy.com and at polyplay.xyz.
A summary of the figurines and their correspondences.
This walkthrough was funded via Patreon with
Ko-Fi is a way to send me small one-time donations. Every little bit helps, and thank you!