PHILOSOPHER'S QUEST HINT SHEET ============================== Acornsoft version This Hint Sheet contains a series of questions that players typically ask, like 'How do I find anything underwater?', and hints to their answers. The number that follows each question is the hint number. Good luck! QUESTIONS ========= 1. How can I drop the albatross? 25 2. How do I avoid getting the bends? 20 3. How do I avoid losing almost all my battery time when I visit the mariner? 23 4. How can I get past the cheese? 10 5. How can I stay alive in the Danger room 13 6. Why do I keep dying in the dark? 2 7. How can I find the old lady's dog? 21 8. How do I get past the ancient mariner? 22 9. How do I get past the elephant? 17 10. How can I escape the 'you don't exist' area? 24 11. How do I get out of the whale maze? 16 12. How do I avoid being dissolved by gastric juices? 19 13. How can I get the ink? 5 14. How can I get light again after escaping the 'you don't exist' area? 26 15. How do I finish the game and get the last point? 32 16. I don't understand the M. E. passages 8 17. How can I pick up the mouse? 15 18. How do I get the treasure chest from the octopus? 14 19. What use is the solicitor's office? 4 20. How do I avoid running out of lamp time? 33 21. How do I use the paint? 29 22. How do I open the larder door? 6 23. How do I get past the portcullis? 9 24. How do I enter the water safely? 7 25. How do I get more than two objects out of the shop? 1 26. How do I take the tooth safely? 18 27. How do I find anything underwater? 11 28. What use is the word blach? 31 29. How do I open the sea cupboard? 12 30. How do I make the old lady's will valuable? 30 31. How do I find the old lady's second dog? 27 32. How do I enquire about the use of an object? 35 33. How can I locate an item of a treasure? 36 34. How do I find the old lady's third dog? 28 35. How do I avoid getting crushed by the passage walls? 34 36. How do I find a light source? 3 HINTS AND ANSWERS ================= 1. - You get killed leaving with more than two objects in your hands. Is there any way you could get objects out without carrying them? - What could you do inside the shop that would result in objects leaving the shop? - Try throwing something. - You can only get ONE extra object out this way. You will have to decide which objects you can safely 'lose'; one will appear later. 2. - You will almost certainly die if you wander around in the dark in this game. - Since you need to wander around, it follows that you must be able to lighten your surroundings. - There was no light source in the shop... - This is a fair game. - There must therefore be a light source where you can get at it. - Have you tried feeling around in the dark? - Try 'get' or 'get all' just outside the shop. 3. - There was no light source in the shop... - This is a fair game. - There must therefore be a light source where you can get at it. - Have you tried feeling around in the dark? - Try 'get' or 'get all' just outside the shop. 4. - Have you tried doing what the sign suggests? - Ordinary objects are removed; treasures are 'valued'. - There is only one use for the solicitor's office: to 'revalue' something that is not yet a treasure. - Leave the will in the office. 5. - It needs a container. - The bottle is suitable. 6. - You need a key. 7. - You'll have to be able to survive underwater. - Surely you've seen something useful in that line? - Carry the aqualung when you enter the water - and do not carry the gasmask at the same time. 8. - M. E. stands for Maurits Escher, who drew many pictures of impossible staircases that always went down. - The M. E. passages are a maze, and can be mapped by dropping objects, one to a room, to make each room look different. - Three of the rooms have a dangerous north exit. - The exits stop being unsafe after you have seen the workman. You can find a treasure through any of the exits thereafter. - The workman has another use, as you will discover. - Have the albatross with you when you see him. 9. - Not all treasures lack uses... - One treasure is magical! - Rub or wave the amulet by the portcullis. 10. - The cheese has a very strong smell. - You need protection from it. - Find the gasmask and wear it. - But it will only protect you for a while - you need a breather occasionally. 11. - Going east or west is no help. - Staying near the surface is no use - anything in the sea would tend to drop to the bottom. - Go deep, and keep going south. 12. - You need a key. 13. - The Danger Room is full of traps for visitors. Each trap is avoidable (if you know what's coming) in some way. - How, for example, could you avoid spears at various heights? - You'd have to be too fast for them. Just going north (say) isn't fast enough. - There are verbs for moving other than 'go'... - Experiment with various forms of locomotion. How, say, could you avoid a pit? - Or a blade at chest height? Or a sword slicing up where one of your legs is? - Do NOT stand around in the middle of the room - keep moving! - The verbs to try are: RUN, JUMP, HOP and CRAWL, or synonyms. 14. - The octopus looks sad... - He's short of something, and it obviously isn't treasure. - Apart from tentacles, what else do you associate with octopi? - You have probably seen what he's lacking. - It was difficult to pick up. - He's looking for ink. - Fill the bottle with ink and bring it along. Drop the bottle by the octopus. 15. - Mice are agile little creatures. You'll have to attract him with something. - What do mice like? - You must be holding the cheese to get the mouse. 16. - The whale keeps burping, which moves things around - sometimes including you. - You can't drop items to mark areas of stomach, therefore. - The atmosphere's awful - that's probably why he's burping. - You got a hint earlier, probably, also underwater. - Have you solved the octopus puzzle? - If so, what did the octopus say? - Strike a match. Watch the smoke. Fresher air is blowing it. - Go in a direction opposite to the smoke. Repeat as necessary. 17. - It's hard to dissuade a big elephant from trampling you. How could you achieve this? - Is there anything that could scare the elephant off? - Hold the mouse as you enter. 18. - You have a few turns of grace before dying; put them to good use. - How did you get to the tooth? - Suppose the whale burped really hard? What might happen? - Could you make the whale burp or cough somehow? You've already done things along the right line to get to the tooth. - You need to make a big fire with lots of smoke. - Strike a match, and light the driftwood. 19. - You have a few turns of grace before dying; put them to good use. - How did you get to the tooth? - Suppose the whale burped really hard? What might happen? - Could you make the whale burp or cough somehow? You've already done things along the right line to get to the tooth. - You need to make a big fire with lots of smoke. - Strike a match, and light the driftwood. 20. - You've been down deep for a long time - use the method divers use! - You need to rest at mid-depth for a while. - Each game turn you spend at mid-depth removes the effects of five turns spent deep (or inside the wreck or whale). 21. - There is a suggestion of its possible whereabouts near the beach. - The dog is only present once you've learned of its existence. - Look beyond the elephants' graveyard. 22. - Just head for him! Be prepared for a wait, though. - Once he's unburdened himself, you can go past where he was. 23. - He talks for a very long time - no wonder your battery runs down! - How could you conserve your battery? - Have your lamp off as you approach the mariner. - You'll die if you move in the dark. - Strike a match before approaching him. 24. - This is difficult. If you don't exist, you can't do anything. So you'll have to show the game you exist. - How can you prove you exist? None of the ordinary words work, obviously. - Think about proving you exist. - Does the name Descartes mean anything? - He wrote 'I think, therefore I exist'. - Just say 'THINK' to the game. 25. - The ancient mariner got rid of it by telling a story. - You need to find an audience. - What humans do you know of in the game? - The old lady is NOT the right one. - Have the albatross with you when you find the workman in the M. E. passages. This will also turn the albatross into a treasure. 26. - You lose everything you had with you when you entered the 'you don't exist' area. - So don't carry your lamp with you. - You can walk safely from light to dark or vice versa. - Leave your lamp outside and walk in. On escaping the area, return and pick up your lamp (walking from dark to light). That's why you get a brief flash of light - so you know which way to go. 27. - An indication appears once you've delivered the first dog. - Seek north of the Danger Room. - Call the dog - What is the dog's name? - Say 'SPOT' north of the Danger Room. 28. - This dog is where you would have expected him to be all along. - Visit the kennel. - The dog is audible but not visible. - The dog is invisible, but you can still 'GET DOG'. - The old lady won't be able to see him, though, which will make her very miserable. - Can you make the dog visible? - Remember the paint? - Visit the paint, which will make dear Spot visible. Then take him to the old lady for your reward. 29. - The paint won't affect you, but will affect somebody else. - It could coat something invisible. - Visit the paint, which will make dear Spot visible. Then take him to the old lady for your reward. 30. - What would you do with a will? - Drop the will in the solicitor's office, leave and return. 31. - It's almost a red herring magic word... almost. It has exactly ONE use. - You can complete all the game except for one point without finding a use for it. - Say BLACH in the shop when you have all the treasure there. 32. - There is exactly one thing you've never used (if you count the meaning of sausage as using it). What is it? - Graffiti... - Say BLACH in the shop when you have all the treasure there. 33. - Every game turn the lamp is on uses up its battery, so conserve power. - Turn the lamp off in daylight. - You can, at a pinch, take and drop in darkness, since you aren't moving; though 'drop all but ...' saves lamp time as well. The game can be finished with battery to spare with a little care. 34. - Prevent the passage walls from sliding inward. - There is an object to help you in the shop. - THROW ROD at the south end of the passage. 35. - Will: it is potentially valuable - Dog: . the old lady is desperately looking for her dog . there are various candidates for her dog, only one of which ever occurs at any time . you need to find each dog in turn and bring it to the old lady - Lady: . she's looking for a cup of tea . followed by her dog. . on successful delivery of her dog, she will donate something of potential value to you - Tusk: it is a treasure - Aqualung: it permits you to breathe underwater - Keys: they unlock doors - Cup: the old lady is looking for a cup of tea - Rod: . properly used, it can keep things in their place . it can prevent walls from sliding inward - Trophy: it is a treasure - Lamp: it gives light; use ON and OFF - Mask: . you need to have the mask to be around the cheese . but leave the cheese behind occasionally and get a breath of air! - Mouse: . it scares elephants . you must be holding the cheese to pick up the mouse - Paint: it can make invisible things visible - Amulet: . it is a treasure . it is magical . it can move a certain object . wave or rub the amulet in front of the portcullis - Kennel: the third dog will (invisibly) appear here - Matches: . they can be struck to make fire . they would also give light - Driftwood: . it is dry and inflammable . you can use it to escape from the whale's stomach . light a fire in the whale's stomach - Book: it is a treasure - Bottle: . it will hold fluid . ink is ideal . drop the bottle of ink by the octopus - Cheque: it is a treasure - Platypus: it is a treasure - Ink: . it's black . you can carry it in the bottle . drop the bottle of ink by the octopus - Albatross: . it can become a treasure . to be able to drop it, you must tell someone the story . be holding the albatross when you meet the workman - Mariner: . he tells a long story about an albatross . before meeting him switch you lamp off to preserve battery power and strike a match - Cheese: . its smell is pretty lethal . you can be in the same room as the cheese for a few turns as long as you have the gasmask . then you must drop the cheese and move away from it for a breather . you must be holding the cheese to pick up the mouse - Chain: it is a treasure - Tooth: it is a treasure - Workman: . you talk to him . then he fixes an unsafe exit in the M.E. passages, where you can find the portrait . talking to him also turns the albatross into a treasure if you hold it - Portrait: it is a treasure - Slipper: it is a treasure - Octopus: it protects the treasure chest - Chest: it is a treasure 36. - Ruby amulet: look south of the shop - Platinum portrait: . explore exits from Picadilly Circus . find your way past the danger signs - Silver chain: . explore exits from Picadilly Circus . find out what to do about the cheese - Inlaid slipper: . have you been swimming yet? . visit the wreck - Treasure chest: . have you been swimming yet? . visit the wreck - Ivory tusk: . have you got past the elephant? - Gold tooth: . have you been swimming yet? . visit the wreck . have you left the wreck? . can you find your way inside the whale? - Stuffed albatross: . explore exits from Picadilly Circus . have you got past the mariner yet? - Acient book: . explore exits from Picadilly Circus . have you proved your existence yet? - Jewelled platypus . seek in the maze of smooth passages - Bronze trophy: . seek beyond the Danger Room north of Piccadilly Circus - Cheque: . it's nowhere! you can make it appear legally . have you found the sollicitor's office yet?