Well, since people are starting to get their hands on this game, I thought I'd start a Quest thread. Anyone who wants to play Myst IV Revelation as a team, this is where to do it!

Although our goal in this Quest will probably not be to write a walkthrough (Myst games always seem to spontaneously generate lots of walkthroughs) it would help Gameboomers significantly if many of us became so familiar with the challenges in this game that we can easily help others in the Hints forum in the future (and there will be lots of confused gamers playing this game for years to come!).

Note: as always, if you are posting something that could obviously give away the solution to a puzzle or a plot element, put up a spoiler warning first.

I don't know about others, but I'm planning to play this one at a leisurely pace and enjoy every little bit of it.

Let us know when you are ready to Quest. I have just started...

Non spoiler type impressions:

- It's so "alive". Birds everywhere. Leaves and bugs flying, wind sounds, light changing as the clouds travel overhead.

- Love the occasional ability to move your view during a full-motion-video.

- Yeesha's a charmer.

Dadguy

I guess I'm sort of ahead...I'm already in another age...and getting ready to leave. The puzzles are just mind-boggling at the moment and complex as ever. hehe. What's new, right? hehe.
There is one thing I TRULY LOVE is the fact that all the books you read can be recited BACK to you, so you really DON'T have to read. I LOVE that so much. You can listen in on it from their perspective, whether good or bad.

Spire age is killing me - I feel again like 6 year old Am I stupid or what?

That's where I was. It was a MAJOR pain, but it's not that bad if you read everything around you. If you need help, just tell us where you are and I'm sure we can help.

Full install took more than an hour! It's too late to start playing now. Isn't it?

So aside from all the usual puzzling...has anyone figured out why subtitles are only available in...Dutch?

Anyone else have the game crash to the desktop after they were in the prison age (the left linking book one) for awhile?

I was walking down the steps of this green crystal covered mountainish thing and then took the elevator down to the bottom, got off, took two steps forward and...

CRASH! Hello desktop!

Girl geek I have a question for you?...During installation did the game suggested that if you needed to upgrade your graphic drive..or you will get some problems in the game...I got that message
close to the end of installation..Where a window
pops up and have a list of check requiremnets to play the game...If you did then that is probably the reason you game could be crashing..


Just started yesterday...Wasn't able to play much since I started to play close to dinner time and couldn't get back to play again...But I am looking for, I think the control room..And I think I broke something, push a button, pulled a lever, and the lights of this standing thing turned off...Had some chat with the little girl, and played with some frequent machine where the guy helped me with(What's his name?)

I will get back to the game some time late in evening..Have to go to a Kids Birthday party on Sat..maybe get to play late at night..

It is amazing how you can enter someones bedroom and poke around in their stuff(only in games)

Demosthenes -- when you first install the game you choose among several language choices. My guess is that, for some reason, Dutch was the default when you installed the game.

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I've just blown things up! I think this was because I didn't have the competence to follow Atrus's instructions.

I've always thought of Atrus as near-super-human. It was so funny to see the look on his face when his cherished mechanical device exploded.

He has now left me alone with Yeesha. I have a bad feeling about this. I suspect that restoring power and everything else I'm supposed to do will pale in comparison to the challenge of keeping Yeesha out of trouble.

Becky: Not only did I select "English", but reinstalling it had the same effect.

All the in-game menus, text and dialogue are in English. It's just the subtitle settings that claim they're only in Dutch. (Options--Game Options menu).



Pretty weird, if you ask me.

I'm not sure why the subtitles are set up that way, Demosthenes, but my game is the same. I'll consult my all-knowing expert to see if she can give us any explanation.

Liz, that man who was asking for your help is Atrus himself!

Becky, I don't think it was our incompetence that caused the crystal viewer to blow a fuse--if you read some of the journals scattered around, it sounds as though it happens now and then...

Liz,

Nope, no error boxes or anything during installation, my system exceeds requirements. On my first install it wouldn't install all the way and crashed to the desktop. I, therefore, disabled Norton Anti-virus (a COMMON problem) and re-installed without a hitch.

I've encountered no other problems while playing.

Returned to an old save and went back to the linking books, but this time chose the linking book on the right. No crashes this time. Guess I'll have to wait to see if the left book Age crashes again when I return to it. For now...I'm just going on in another Age, as I don't want to stop playing!!!! LOL

Gotta go! Much to see and much to do!

I fondled the game long enough and besides some clouds showed up so it wasn't as nice outside anymore and I could stop feeling quilty for staying inside! So I am back in the land of Myst.

I have found that it is very difficult to play during the day- blinds are closed but the screen was impossible to see. The observatory was so dark that I couldn't see the stairs or any of the levers. I went into the options and lo and behold there is a lever to adjust the brightness, boy did that help! I think that I will have to turn it back down when I head outside, but for now I can see all of the beautiful detail of the room.

This is going to be a great game- and I will play it slowly like sipping a great glass of wine!

Sequoia

Girlgeek, I went to the left linking book (Spire), and didn't have a crash. I did, however, turn around a couple times to view the scenery on the way down the stairs and observed some buggy graphics. There were a few transparent squares in the rock that shouldn't have been there.

I am now fighting to find out how to get the floating ship to allow me to cross to the floating islands in Spire.

Dadguy

eww...I got lucky on that puzzle. Just think about HOW electromagnetic fields actually works and pay attention to the panels...
That should help out a bit. =)

dadguy and rain2,

I'm on that puzzle in Spire NOW. I've gotten the ship up to where I can get on it once...went and got on, couldn't get it to fly...got back off, went back to the panel and screwed it up and haven't gotten it back up to flying level again since! LOL Once I get IN the ship, I'm not sure how to get it to FLY!!!

Any hints on actually FLYING it??

Yes! I figured it out...

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OK, you need a proper balance of PULL from the top magnet and PULL from the bottom magnet. You are where I was... you probably have one power light on the top power panel and 6 power lights on the bottom power panel. This is the correct differential (i.e., the bottom must have 5 more lights than the top to get the ship at the docking bay). But, you must get the CORRECT balance AND level of power to get the channel open to cross to the floating palace.

So, if you can find a way to get TWO power lights on the top panel and SEVEN power lights on the lower panel, the ship will have the proper differential to float at the dock level PLUS it will have the proper level to fly across.

So, play with the slider on the top power panel first to get it to TWO power lights, then fool with the bottom one to get it to SEVEN.

By the way, the power lights are the ones at the top row. There are four possible on the top panel and seven possible on the bottom panel.

If you need help with how to get them to these levels, give us a call!

Dadguy

PS: I haven't started Haven yet, so it's good that you went back to Spire first... we can stay together on our Quest!

Right now, I've been to Spire and finished most of it. Not sure what to do about the numbers just yet. Been to Serenia and finished about half, and now in Haven just to check things out. So far so good. I'm erratic, aren't I? hehe. =)

I'm way behind you all. I'm wandering around and taking everything in. You can see shadows from the clouds moving across the rocks! I watched a bird at a bird feeder. Everything moves and drifts in the wind. It's amazing.

If Atrus had really wanted me to accomplish tasks quickly, he shouldn't have put me in such a fun place to explore.

Whenever I click to go forward, there's a pause, almost as though the game is reading from the DVD drive, which it isn't because I've done a full install. I'm getting used to it, though it does slow movement a bit.

I checked out the subtitles. Only in Dutch in my game too. I am VERY curious as to why.

I thought I was ready for this quest but I
have no focus on my camera and my curser keeps changing ( invidaGeforce2 mx100/200 ) 512megs not sure how much memory.

Maggiebe, for the blurriness, you might want to go to the Options--Graphics Options menu and turn off "Depth of Field" effects.

That's an effect that blurs everything except for the 8 or 9 pixels surrounding the cursor. It's supposed to simulate depth of field, but in my opinion it just makes everything look blurry...

I love the animated backgrounds in this game, though.

maggiebe, you may need to update your video drivers. Also, that camera focus thing sounds strange. Maybe you should make sure the special effect for Depth of Field is disabled in the graphic setup options.

Becky, I loved that cloud/sunlight effect that you see when you first land at the entrance of Tomahna. I stood and watched for 30 minutes. Fantastic!

Dadguy

I am way behind you guys...And I am at the part with the view puzzle...the power is up and I am at the observation deck...Now I need to put the combination cystal in the panels that you slide open...My question is? Do I need the crystal in the drawer in Artus desk to put them in the panels?

If so, I can't grab them it won't let me, I could tap them, but can't pick them up...I took a picture of the cystals combination of Artus journal, sat in the chair and got a close up view of the telescope, turn on the anntenna button..

What am I doing wrong?...Liz

Looks like all is good. Do you see Static on the Viewer screen? If so, then you're all set for the puzzle and you DON'T need those crystals in the drawer; just the picture you took. You'll figure out the puzzle eventually that way. Hope that helps a little. I don't like solving puzzles here unless someone REALLY needs it. =)